Solanum lycopersicum and BC204 RNAseq data

Plant biostimulants have been earmarked as one of the major groups of new plant growth promoting substances to drive a much-needed revolution in agriculture. One such PB, BC204, has been used to great success, but there is no peer-reviewed data to explain the possible mechanisms by which it exerts its effects. In this study, an RNA-seq approach was adopted to elucidate the effects of BC204 on shoot tissues of hydroponically grown Solanum lycopersicum seedlings at the molecular level. BC204, applied via foliar spray at a concentration of 0.05% (v/v), stimulated root and shoot biomass production, root and shoot length, and stem width compared to the untreated control plants. Out of the 33308 transcripts analysed, 18.059% of all genes were significantly differentially expressed between the control and treated groups, of which 8.776% were upregulated and 9.283% downregulated. Most notably, genes involved in signalling, stress and protein metabolism were upregulated, which could explain the observed increases in growth. Additionally, hormone metabolism and genes involved in transcription and other regulation processes were also upregulated. Genes involved in protein metabolism were mostly downregulated.