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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1386234
This article is part of the Research Topic Nitrogen Metabolism in Crops and Model Plant Species View all 9 articles

Root symbiotic fungi improve nitrogen transfer and morphophysiological performance in Chenopodium quinoa

Provisionally accepted
Shirley Alquichire-Rojas Shirley Alquichire-Rojas 1Elizabeth Escobar Elizabeth Escobar 2Marcia González-Teuber Marcia González-Teuber 3*
  • 1 Universidad Catolica de la Santisima Concepcion, concepcion, Chile
  • 2 Universidad de Concepcion, concepcion, Chile
  • 3 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Root-associated fungal endophytes may facilitate nitrogen (N) absorption in plants, leading to benefits in photosynthesis and growth. Here, we investigated whether endophytic insect pathogenic fungi (EIPF) are capable of transferring soil N to the crop species Chenopodium quinoa. We evaluated nutrient uptake, carbon allocation, and morpho-physiological performance in C. quinoa in symbiosis with two different EIPF (Beauveria and Metarhizium) under contrasting soil N supply. A controlled experiment was conducted using two plant groups: (1) plants subjected to low N level (5 mM urea) and ( 2) plants subjected to high N level (15 mM urea). Plants from each group were then inoculated with different EIPF strains, either Beauveria (EIPF1+), Metarhizium (EIPF2+) or without fungus (EIPF-). Differences in N and C content, amino acids, proteins, soluble sugars, starch, glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase, and physiological (photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration), and morphological performance between plant groups under each treatment were examined. We found that both Beauveria and Metarhizium translocated N from the soil to the roots of C. quinoa, with positive effects on photosynthesis and plant growth. These effects, however, were differentially affected by fungal strain as we as by N level. Additionally, an improvement in root C and sugar content was observed in presence of EIPF, suggesting translocation of carbohydrates from leaves to roots. Whereas both strains were equally effective in N transfer to roots, Beauveria seemed to exert less demand in C. quinoa for photosynthesis-derived carbohydrates compared to Metarhizium. Our study revealed positive effects of EIPF on N transfer and morpho-physiological performance in crops, highlighting the potential of these fungi as an alternative to chemical fertilizers in agriculture systems.

    Keywords: entomopathogenic fungi, Nitrogen transfer, Photosynthesis, carbon allocation, Plant Growth, Symbiosis, Quinoa

    Received: 14 Feb 2024; Accepted: 31 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Alquichire-Rojas, Escobar and González-Teuber. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marcia González-Teuber, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

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