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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1438771
This article is part of the Research Topic Salinity and Drought Stress in Plants: Understanding Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Responses Volume II View all articles

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities and promoting the growth of alfalfa in saline ecosystems of northern China

Provisionally accepted
Wen Xu Wen Xu Qianning Liu Qianning Liu Baiji Wang Baiji Wang Na Zhang Na Zhang Rui Qiu Rui Qiu Yuying Yuan Yuying Yuan Mei Yang Mei Yang Fengdan Wang Fengdan Wang Linlin Mei Linlin Mei *Guowen Cui Guowen Cui *
  • Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China

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

    Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are universally distributed in soils, including saline soils, and can form mycorrhizal symbiosis with the vast majority of higher plants. This symbiosis can reduce soil salinity and influence plant growth and development by improving nutrient uptake, increasing plant antioxidant enzyme activity, and regulating hormone levels. In this study, rhizosphere soil from eight plants in the Songnen saline-alkaline grassland was used to isolate, characterize, and screen the indigenous advantageous AMF. The promoting effect of AMF on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) under salt treatment was also investigated. The findings showed that 40 species of AMF in 6 genera were identified by high-throughput sequencing.Glomus mosseae (G.m) and Glomus etunicatum (G.e) are the dominant species in saline ecosystems of northern China. Alfalfa inoculated with Glomus mosseae and Glomus etunicatum under different salt concentrations could be infested and form a symbiotic system. The mycorrhizal colonization rate and mycorrhizal dependence of G.m inoculation were significantly higher than those of G.e inoculation. With increasing salt concentration, inoculation increased alfalfa plant height, fresh weight, chlorophyll content, proline (Pro), soluble sugar (SS), soluble protein (SP), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activity, while decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide anion production rate. The results highlight that inoculation with G.m and G.e effectively alleviated salinity stress, with G.m inoculation having a significant influence on salt resistance in alfalfa. AMF might play a key role in alfalfa growth and survival under harsh salt conditions.

    Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, alfalfa, Salinization, rhizosphere soil, growth -promoting

    Received: 26 May 2024; Accepted: 30 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Liu, Wang, Zhang, Qiu, Yuan, Yang, Wang, Mei and Cui. 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:
    Linlin Mei, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
    Guowen Cui, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China

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