AUTHOR=Singh Bansh N. , Dwivedi Padmanabh , Sarma Birinchi K. , Singh Gopal S. , Singh Harikesh B. 

TITLE=Trichoderma asperellum T42 Reprograms Tobacco for Enhanced Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency and Plant Growth When Fed with N Nutrients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00163

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.00163

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Trichoderma</italic> spp., are saprophytic fungi that can improve plant growth through increased nutrient acquisition and change in the root architecture. In the present study, we demonstrate that <italic>Trichoderma asperellum</italic> T42 mediate enhancement in host biomass, total nitrogen content, nitric oxide (NO) production and cytosolic Ca<sup>2+</sup> accumulation in tobacco. T42 inoculation enhanced lateral root, root hair length, root hair density and root/shoot dry mass in tobacco under deprived nutrients condition. Interestingly, these growth attributes were further elevated in presence of T42 and supplementation of NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> nutrients to tobacco at 40 and 70 days, particularly in NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> supplementation, whereas no significant increment was observed in <italic>nia30</italic> mutant. In addition, NO production was more in tobacco roots in T42 inoculated plants fed with NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> nutrient confirming NO generation was dependent on NR pathway. NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> dependent NO production contributed to increase in lateral root initiation, Ca<sup>2+</sup> accumulation and activities of nitrate transporters (NRTs) in tobacco. Higher activities of several NRT genes in response to T42 and N nutrients and suppression of ammonium transporter (<italic>AMT1</italic>) suggested that induction of high affinity NRTs help NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> acquisition through roots of tobacco. Among the NRTs <italic>NRT2</italic>.<italic>1</italic> and <italic>NRT2.2</italic> were more up-regulated compared to the other NRTs. Addition of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), relative to those supplied with NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>/NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> nutrition and T42 treated plants singly, and with application of NO inhibitor, cPTIO, confirmed the altered NO fluorescence intensity in tobacco roots. Our findings suggest that T42 promoted plant growth significantly ant N content in the tobacco plants grown under N nutrients, notably higher in NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>, providing insight of the strategy for not only tobacco but probably for other crops as well to adapt to fluctuating nitrate availability in soil.</p>