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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1476200
This article is part of the Research Topic Cross-Kingdom Communications Among Plants, Fungi and Bacteria: From Molecules to Ecological Factors View all 8 articles

Diversity and Plant Growth Promotion Potential of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Hairy Vetch in Japan

Provisionally accepted
Parisa Taheri Parisa Taheri 1K. M.G. Dastogeer K. M.G. Dastogeer 2Safirah Tasa Nerves Ratu Safirah Tasa Nerves Ratu 1Dominic Vincent Anin Agyekum Dominic Vincent Anin Agyekum 1Michiko Yasuda Michiko Yasuda 1Yoshiharu Fujii Yoshiharu Fujii 1Shin Okazaki Shin Okazaki 1*
  • 1 Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Japan
  • 2 Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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

    Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), a leguminous plant with nitrogen-fixing ability, is used as a cover crop and has the potential to suppress weeds and plant diseases. The microbial composition, particularly fungal endophytes, which may be related to the beneficial functions of this crop, has not been previously studied. In this study, we analyzed the diversity and function of culturable fungal endophytes associated with hairy vetch from eight locations across Japan. Using fungal culture method, a total of 2,186 isolates were recovered and assigned to 80 distinct internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genotypes, spanning 28 genera. The results demonstrated that geographic location and soil physicochemical properties significantly influenced the community composition of the hairy vetch fungal endophytes. The soil pH showed a significant positive correlation with the abundance of Penicillium, which was the most dominant genus in all the sampling locations and tissues. Most isolates promoted plant growth and colonized hairy vetch and soybean roots, significantly promoting the growth of hairy vetch and/or soybean plants. Among the isolates, Penicillium griseofulvum AKL25 and Trichoderma koningii AKR15 significantly enhanced both hairy vetch and soybean growth, respectively. Meanwhile, Alternaria alternaria OGL80 significantly increased soybean growth but it did not affect hairy vetch growth, indicating host specificity of the fungal endophytes. In conclusion, this study showed that soil properties and geographic location play a critical role in shaping the community composition and structure of endophytic fungi associated with hairy vetch. Additionally, the isolated fungi promoted hairy vetch and soybean growth, with a host preference. Furthermore, this study revealed that a novel endophytic fungus, P. griseofulvum AKL25, which has high growthpromoting activity, can be utilized as a microbial inoculant to promote hairy vetch and soybean growth in sustainable agriculture.

    Keywords: hairy vetch, endophytic fungi, diversity, Symbiosis, plant growth promotion

    Received: 05 Aug 2024; Accepted: 16 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Taheri, Dastogeer, Ratu, Anin Agyekum, Yasuda, Fujii and Okazaki. 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: Shin Okazaki, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Japan

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