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Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and methyl jasmonate avoid the inhibition of root hydraulic conductivity caused by drought

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Abstract

Hormonal regulation and symbiotic relationships provide benefits for plants to overcome stress conditions. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) application on root hydraulic conductivity (L) of Phaseolus vulgaris plants which established arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis under two water regimes (well-watered and drought conditions). The variation in endogenous contents of several hormones (MeJA, JA, abscisic acid (ABA), indol-3-acetic acid (IAA), salicylic acid (SA)) and the changes in aquaporin gene expression, protein abundance and phosphorylation state were analyzed. AM symbiosis decreased L under well-watered conditions, which was partially reverted by the MeJA treatment, apparently by a drop in root IAA contents. Also, AM symbiosis and MeJA prevented inhibition of L under drought conditions, most probably by a reduction in root SA contents. Additionally, the gene expression of two fungal aquaporins was upregulated under drought conditions, independently of the MeJA treatment. Plant aquaporin gene expression could not explain the behaviour of L. Conversely, evidence was found for the control of L by phosphorylation of aquaporins. Hence, MeJA addition modified the response of L to both AM symbiosis and drought, presumably by regulating the root contents of IAA and SA and the phosphorylation state of aquaporins.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) by a grant AGL2011-25403 to R. Aroca, JM Ruiz-Lozano and B. Sánchez-Romera. B. Sánchez-Romera was supported by a fellowship from the Formación de Personal Investigador program.

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  1. Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC), C/ Profesor Albareda 1, 18008, Granada, Spain

    Beatriz Sánchez-Romera, Juan Manuel Ruiz-Lozano & Ricardo Aroca

  2. CIPAV TimacAGRO International—Roullier Group, Polígono Arazuri-Orcoyen, c/C no. 32, 31160, Orcoyen, Navarra, Spain

    Ángel María Zamarreño & José María García-Mina

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  1. Beatriz Sánchez-Romera
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  2. Juan Manuel Ruiz-Lozano
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  3. Ángel María Zamarreño
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  4. José María García-Mina
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  5. Ricardo Aroca
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Correspondence to Ricardo Aroca.

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Fig. S1

Effect of water regime and MeJA treatment on the percentage of root length colonized in bean plants by Rhizophagus irregularis. Plants were treated (light grey columns) or not (dark grey columns) with 200 μM MeJA, and cultivated under well-watered or drought conditions for 7 days. Columns represent means ± SE (n = 4). None of the treatments had significant differences after ANOVA and LSD tests. (PPTX 46 kb)

Fig. S2

Dry weights of shoots and roots of P. vulgaris plants, uninoculated (dark grey columns) or inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis (light grey columns). Plants were treated or not (NT) with 200 μM MeJA, and cultivated under well-watered or drought conditions for 7 days. Columns represent mean ± SE (n = 4). None of the treatments had significant differences after ANOVA and LSD tests. (PPTX 64 kb)

Fig. S3

Fresh weights of shoots and roots of P. vulgaris plants, uninoculated (dark grey columns) or inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis (light grey columns). Plants were treated or not (NT) with 200 μM MeJA, and cultivated under well-watered or drought conditions for 7 days. Columns represent mean ± SE (n = 4). None of the treatments had significant differences after ANOVA and LSD tests. (PPTX 63 kb)

Fig. S4

Relative expression of (A) PvAOC, (B) PvLEA, (C) PvGH3 and (D) PvPAL genes determined by q-RT-PCR in roots of P. vulgaris, uninoculated (dark grey columns) or inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis (light grey columns). Plants were treated or not (NT) with 200 μM MeJA, and cultivated under well-watered or drought conditions for 7 days. Columns represent means (n = 3) ± SE. Different letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05) after ANOVA and LSD tests. Linear models established between gene expression of PvAOC and JA content (E), gene expression of PvLEA and ABA content (F), gene expression of PvGH3 and IAA content (G) and gene expression of PvPAL and SA content (H). (PPTX 109 kb)

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Sánchez-Romera, B., Ruiz-Lozano, J.M., Zamarreño, Á.M. et al. Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and methyl jasmonate avoid the inhibition of root hydraulic conductivity caused by drought. Mycorrhiza 26, 111–122 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-015-0650-7

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