Plant-Microbe Interaction: Tomato as a Case Study

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Tomato is a nutrient-rich vegetable crop plant consumed worldwide. Tomato is a fruit-bearing crop plant of the Solanaceae family. This plant harbors diverse microbes in its rhizosphere, phyllosphere, and endosphere, of which, beneficial microbes can promote their growth, and harmful pathogens can cause various diseases and play a crucial role in determining their overall growth, development, and fitness. Since the plant is being colonized by both beneficial and harmful microbes, the tomato has become an excellent model system for the study of plant-microbe interactions. Besides, their yield is limited due to several pathogen attacks. Therefore, it is crucial to understand both the disease biology and the interaction of beneficial microbes with the tomato plant to obtain extensive knowledge which would ultimately help to find out the possible mechanisms for controlling diseases in tomatoes as well as other Solanaceae crops like potatoes, eggplant, etc. for sustainable agriculture. Here in this chapter, we will discuss the details of the biology of the interaction of both the beneficial and harmful microbes with the tomato plant.