Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Mycorrhizal Plants

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of abiotic stress events that plants are exposed to, such as water-related stress including drought and salinity. Since plants are sessile organisms they need to rapidly acclimate to these changes by processes ranging from molecular to physiological adaptations. However, plants interact with beneficial soil microorganisms that can alleviate or increase stress tolerance of host plants. Among these beneficial soil microorganisms, mycorrhizal fungi are the most extended. Understanding how mycorrhizal fungi increases plant abiotic stress tolerance is useful to apply in the field to increase crop yields as well as to insure plant restoration. Although in recent years much progress has been made within this field, some questions remain unsolved mostly because of the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi, their specificity in response to host plants, and the intra mycorrhizal fungi competition in nature. Moreover, the molecular and signaling mechanisms behind drought and salinity stress tolerance of mycorrhizal plants are almost unknown.

This Research Topic welcomes both Reviews and Original Research dealing with the mechanisms behind the high drought and salinity stress tolerance observed in mycorrhizal plants. The topic is open to all mycorrhizal symbioses (arbuscular, ectomycorrhiza, ectendo-mycorrhiza, or orchid mycorrhiza) and to all hosts from annual plants to tall trees, and from crop species to natural populations. We welcome water-related abiotic stresses, with an osmotic component, such as drought and salinity. The experimental approaches can include growth chamber, field trials or natural vegetation studies. Finally, we also welcome physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches including omics techniques that provide biological insights to mechanisms involved.