TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of the Rhizosphere Fungus Cunninghamella bertholletiae on the Solanum lycopersicum Response to Diverse Abiotic Stresses
AU - Kazerooni, Elham Ahmed
AU - Maharachchikumbura, Sajeewa S.N.
AU - Al-Sadi, Abdullah Mohammed
AU - Rashid, Umer
AU - Kim, Il Doo
AU - Kang, Sang Mo
AU - Lee, In Jung
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2022R1A2C1008993).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - This study examined the efficiency of fungal strain (Cunninghamella bertholletiae) isolated from the rhizosphere of Solanum lycopersicum to reduce symptoms of salinity, drought and heavy metal stresses in tomato plants. In vitro evaluation of C. bertholletiae demonstrated its ability to produce indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), ammonia and tolerate varied abiotic stresses on solid media. Tomato plants at 33 days’ old, inoculated with or without C. bertholletiae, were treated with 1.5% sodium chloride, 25% polyethylene glycol, 3 mM cadmium and 3 mM lead for 10 days, and the impact of C. bertholletiae on plant performance was investigated. Inoculation with C. bertholletiae enhanced plant biomass and growth attributes in stressed plants. In addition, C. bertholletiae modulated the physiochemical apparatus of stressed plants by raising chlorophyll, carotenoid, glucose, fructose, and sucrose contents, and reducing hydrogen peroxide, protein, lipid metabolism, amino acid, antioxidant activities, and abscisic acid. Gene expression analysis showed enhanced expression of SlCDF3 and SlICS genes and reduced expression of SlACCase, SlAOS, SlGRAS6, SlRBOHD, SlRING1, SlTAF1, and SlZH13 genes following C. bertholletiae application. In conclusion, our study supports the potential of C. bertholletiae as a biofertilizer to reduce plant damage, improve crop endurance and remediation under stress conditions.
AB - This study examined the efficiency of fungal strain (Cunninghamella bertholletiae) isolated from the rhizosphere of Solanum lycopersicum to reduce symptoms of salinity, drought and heavy metal stresses in tomato plants. In vitro evaluation of C. bertholletiae demonstrated its ability to produce indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), ammonia and tolerate varied abiotic stresses on solid media. Tomato plants at 33 days’ old, inoculated with or without C. bertholletiae, were treated with 1.5% sodium chloride, 25% polyethylene glycol, 3 mM cadmium and 3 mM lead for 10 days, and the impact of C. bertholletiae on plant performance was investigated. Inoculation with C. bertholletiae enhanced plant biomass and growth attributes in stressed plants. In addition, C. bertholletiae modulated the physiochemical apparatus of stressed plants by raising chlorophyll, carotenoid, glucose, fructose, and sucrose contents, and reducing hydrogen peroxide, protein, lipid metabolism, amino acid, antioxidant activities, and abscisic acid. Gene expression analysis showed enhanced expression of SlCDF3 and SlICS genes and reduced expression of SlACCase, SlAOS, SlGRAS6, SlRBOHD, SlRING1, SlTAF1, and SlZH13 genes following C. bertholletiae application. In conclusion, our study supports the potential of C. bertholletiae as a biofertilizer to reduce plant damage, improve crop endurance and remediation under stress conditions.
KW - antioxidant enzymes
KW - drought
KW - heavy metal
KW - phytohormone
KW - salinity
KW - sugar
KW - tomato
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136596289&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85136596289&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijms23168909
DO - 10.3390/ijms23168909
M3 - Article
C2 - 36012179
AN - SCOPUS:85136596289
SN - 1661-6596
VL - 23
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
IS - 16
M1 - 8909
ER -