AUTHOR=Liu Hui , Tang Huimin , Ni Xiaozhen , Zhang Jiazhen , Zhang Xi 

TITLE=Epichloë endophyte interacts with saline-alkali stress to alter root phosphorus-solubilizing fungal and bacterial communities in tall fescue

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1027428

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.1027428

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Epichloë</italic> endophytes, present in aboveground tissues, modify belowground microbial community. This study was conducted to investigate endophyte (<italic>Epichloë coenophialum</italic>) associated with tall fescue (<italic>Lolium arundinaceum</italic>) interacted with an altered saline-alkali stress (0, 200 and 400 mmol/l) to affect the belowground phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms including phosphorus solubilizing fungi (PSF) and bacteria (PSB). We found that a significant interaction between <italic>E. coenophialum</italic> and saline-alkali stress occurred in the diversity and composition of PSF in tall fescue roots. Under saline-alkali stress conditions (200 and 400 mmol/l), <italic>E. coenophialum</italic> significantly increased the PSF diversity and altered its composition in the roots, decreasing the relative abundance of dominant <italic>Cladosporium</italic> and increasing the relative abundance of <italic>Fusarium.</italic> However, there was no significant interaction between <italic>E. coenophialum</italic> and saline-alkali stress on the PSB diversity in tall fescue roots. <italic>E. coenophialum</italic> significantly reduced the diversity of PSB in the roots, and <italic>E. coenophialum</italic> effects did not depend on the saline-alkali stress treatment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that <italic>E. coenophialum</italic> presence increased soil available phosphorus concentration under saline-alkali stress primarily by affecting PSF diversity instead of the diversity and composition of PSB.</p>