AUTHOR=Singhal Uma , Khanuja Manika , Prasad Ram , Varma Ajit 

TITLE=Impact of Synergistic Association of ZnO-Nanorods and Symbiotic Fungus Piriformospora indica DSM 11827 on Brassica oleracea var. botrytis (Broccoli)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01909

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.01909

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>In the present work, novel nanotool called ‘nano-embedded fungus’ formed by impact of synergistic association of ZnO-nanorods and fungus <italic>Piriformospora indica</italic> DSM 11827, for growth of <italic>Brassica oleracea</italic> var. botrytis (Broccoli) is reported. ZnO-nanorods were synthesized by mechanical assisted thermal decomposition process and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology, X-ray diffraction for structural studies and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy for band gap determination. Nanoembedded fungus is prepared by optimizing ZnO-nanorods concentration (500 ppm) which resulted in the increased biomass of <italic>P. indica</italic>, as confirmed by dry weight method, spore count, spread plate and microscopy techniques viz. SEM and confocal microscopy. Enhancement in <italic>B. oleracea</italic> var. botrytis is reported on treatment with nanoembedded fungus. According to the authors, this is the first holistic study focusing on the impact of ZnO-nanorods in the enhancement of fungal symbiont for enhanced biomass productivity of <italic>B. oleracea</italic> plant.</p>