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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1446437
This article is part of the Research Topic Plant-microbes Interactions and Resistance Against Abiotic Stress View all 4 articles

Enhancing drought resistance in Pinus tabuliformis seedlings through root symbiotic fungi inoculation

Provisionally accepted
Lingjie Xu Lingjie Xu 1Jiadong He Jiadong He 2Yu Meng Yu Meng 1Yanyan Zheng Yanyan Zheng 1Bin Lu Bin Lu 1Jiawen Zhang Jiawen Zhang 1Yong Zhou Yong Zhou 1*
  • 1 College of Landscape Architecture and Tourism, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Walloon Brabant, Belgium

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

    Background: Drought constitutes a major abiotic stress factor adversely affecting plant growth and productivity. Plant-microbe symbiotic associations have evolved regulatory mechanisms to adapt to environmental stress conditions. However, the interactive effects of different fungi on host growth and stress tolerance under drought conditions remain unclear.Objective: This study explored the effects of varying polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) concentrations (0%, 15%, 25%, and 35%) on the growth and physiological responses of two ectomycorrhizal fungi (Suillus granulatus (Sg) and Pisolithus tinctorius (Pt)) and two dark septate endophytes (Pleotrichocladium opacum (Po) and Pseudopyrenochaeta sp. (Ps)) isolated from the root system of Pinus tabuliformis. Specifically, the study aimed to evaluate six inoculation treatments, including no inoculation (CK), single inoculations with Sg, Pt, Po, Ps, and a mixed inoculation (Sg:Pt:Po:Ps = 1:1:1:1), on the growth and physiological characteristics of P. tabuliformis seedlings under different water regimes: well-watered at 70% ± 5%, light drought at 50% ± 5%, and severe drought at 30% ± 5% of the maximum field water holding capacity.Results: All four fungi exhibited the capacity to cope with drought stress by enhancing antioxidant activities and regulating osmotic balance. Upon successful root colonization, they increased plant height, shoot biomass, root biomass, total biomass, and mycorrhizal growth response in P. tabuliformis seedlings. Under drought stress conditions, fungal inoculation improved seedling drought resistance by increasing superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, free proline and soluble protein contents, and promoting nitrogen and phosphorus uptake. Notably, mixed inoculation treatments significantly enhanced antioxidant capacity, osmotic adjustment, and nutrient acquisition abilities, leading to superior growth promotion effects under drought stress compared to single inoculation treatments.All four fungi tolerated PEG-induced drought stress, with increased antioxidant enzyme activities and osmotic adjustment substances and they promoted the growth and enhanced drought resistance of P. tabuliformis seedlings.

    Keywords: Antioxidant activities, ectomycorrhizal fungi, Mixed inoculation, osmotic adjustment, PEG-6000, Root symbiotic fungi

    Received: 09 Jun 2024; Accepted: 01 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, He, Meng, Zheng, Lu, Zhang and Zhou. 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: Yong Zhou, College of Landscape Architecture and Tourism, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, 071000, Hebei Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.