AUTHOR=Wang Zhengfeng , Liu Jing , White James F. , Li Chunjie 

TITLE=Epichloë bromicola from wild barley improves salt-tolerance of cultivated barley by altering physiological responses to salt stress

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1044735

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.1044735

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Epichloë bromicola</italic> is a cultivable fungal endophyte that lives in symbiosis with wild barley (<italic>Hordeum brevisubulatum</italic>) to which it confers salt tolerance. This study tested the hypothesis that <italic>E. bromicola</italic> derived from wild barley has the potential to increase salt tolerance in cultivated barley under salt stress.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>To test this hypothesis, the growth response, physiological parameters, and metabolic profiles of barley plants inoculated with <italic>E. bromicola</italic> (E+) and those not inoculated with <italic>E. bromicola</italic> (E–) were compared under salt stress.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Compared with E– barley plants, E+ barley plants had significantly increased plant height, shoot biomass, total biomass, chlorophyll content, osmotic synthesis, and accumulation of stress adaptation metabolites. <italic>E. bromicola</italic> increased the salt stress tolerance of cultivated barley, and the positive effects correlated with different salt stress conditions.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>These results suggest that <italic>E. bromicola</italic> has promising potential for enhancing the salt tolerance of barley. New insights into the mechanisms underlying this barley–fungal endophyte association are provided, and interesting questions regarding the role of <italic>E. bromicola</italic> in fungus-enhanced tolerance to salt stress in this symbiosis are raised.</p></sec>