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Dark septate endophyte improves the drought-stress resistance of Ormosia hosiei seedlings by altering leaf morphology and photosynthetic characteristics

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Abstract

Dark septate endophytes (DSEs) appear to protect host plants against a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses; however, our knowledge of the roles played by DSEs in improving the drought tolerance of trees is poor. In this study, we inoculated sterile drought-stressed Ormosia hosiei seedlings with the DSE species Acrocalymma vagum to determine the role that the DSE plays in seedling growth and drought tolerance of O. hosiei. We investigated whether inoculation with DSE affected the leaf morphology, anatomical structure, pigments, photosynthesis, and chloroplast ultrastructure. Inoculated seedlings and non-inoculated seedlings were grown under three different soil water conditions (well-watered, 75% of field water capacity; moderate water, 55% of field water capacity; or low water, 35% of field water capacity) for 114 days. The leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, leaf dry weight, leaf palisade tissue thickness, vascular bundle area, and the inner diameter of vessels of the inoculated seedlings were significantly greater than those of non-inoculated seedlings. Furthermore, the content of pigments, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and the transpiration rate of inoculated seedlings were significantly higher than those of the non-inoculated seedlings, whereas the intracellular CO2 concentration was significantly lower than that of non-inoculated seedlings. The mitochondria, chloroplasts, and cell membrane were well preserved under water stress in the inoculated seedlings, whereas the chloroplasts and other leaf cell organelles of the non-inoculated seedlings were severely damaged. Our results indicate that inoculating O. hosiei with a DSE could be a promising biological approach with the potential to promote the survival of these trees.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 3146019), by the "One Hundred" Level Talent Funding Project for the High-level Innovative Talent Training Program in Guizhou Province (No. [2016]5661), by the "Thousand" Level Talent Funding Project for the High-level Innovative Talent Training Program in Guizhou Province. And the authors are grateful to the first-class disciplines of forestry and ecology of Guizhou University for offering a good experimentation platform.

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  1. College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Jia Xiu South Road, Huaxi District, Guiyang, 550009, China

    Yan Liu & Xiaoli Wei

  2. Guizhou Institute of Biology, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Yan Liu

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  1. Yan Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaoli Wei.

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Liu, Y., Wei, X. Dark septate endophyte improves the drought-stress resistance of Ormosia hosiei seedlings by altering leaf morphology and photosynthetic characteristics. Plant Ecol 222, 761–771 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-021-01135-3

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