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Piriformospora indica improves salinity stress tolerance in Zea mays L. plants by regulating Na+ and K+ loading in root and allocating K+ in shoot

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Abstract

Piriformospora indica is known as a fungus that can easily colonize a wide range of plants and enhance host’s growth and tolerance to abiotic stresses, including salinity. The mechanistic basis behind this phenomenon remains poorly understood. This work was aimed to fill in this gap and reveal mechanisms enhancing salinity tolerance in maize roots colonised by P. indica. A range of agronomic and physiological characteristics were compared between inoculated and non-inoculated maize plants under 0/100/200 mM NaCl conditions. The impact of P. indica inoculation or root’s cytosolic K+ retention ability were also assessed using micro-electrode ion flux estimation technique. The results showed that inoculated plants had higher biomass, higher stomatal conductance, lower K+ efflux from roots and higher potassium content in shoots than non-inoculated plants under salt stress. Collectively, the results indicated that the beneficial effects of inoculation on plant performance under saline conditions were mainly attributed to the improved stomata operation associated with higher rate of K delivery into the shoots.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AM:

Arbuscular mycorrhizal

BSM:

Basic salt medium

Ci:

Intercellular CO2 concentration

DW:

Dry weight

FW:

Fresh weight

Gs:

Stomatal conductance

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

MIFE:

Micro-electrode ion flux estimation

PGPR:

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

P. indica :

Piriformospora indica

Pn:

Net photosynthetic rate

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

TCA:

Trichloroacetic acid

Tr:

Transpiration

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Acknowledgements

The financial support was provided by Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education (KF201605), and the open fund of Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry (LXT-16-10).

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Author notes

  1. Ping Yun and Le Xu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry/ School of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China

    Ping Yun, Le Xu, Sai-Sai Wang & Wen-Ying Zhang

  2. Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 54, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Lana Shabala & Sergey Shabala

  3. Department of Horticulture, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, China

    Sergey Shabala

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  1. Ping Yun
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Correspondence to Sergey Shabala or Wen-Ying Zhang.

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10725_2018_431_MOESM1_ESM.doc

Fig. S1 Experimental protocols and inoculation examination: (a) A schematic diagram of 23 the experimental protocols employed in this study. b, c - P. indica colonization of maize roots. (b) Control, (c) Root segments stained with trypan blue showing colonization of Z. mays by P.indica (arrow). Fig. S2 Photos of plants taken 5 days after onset of salt stress: (a) 0 mM NaCl +P. indica, (b) 100 mM NaCl +P. indica, (c) 200 mM NaCl +P. indica, (d) 0 mM NaCl -P. indica, (e) 100 mM NaCl -P. indica, (f) 200 mM NaCl -P. indica. Fig. S3 Photos of roots taken 5 days after onset of salt stress. (a) 0 mM NaCl +P. indica, (b) 100 mM NaCl +P. indica, (c) 200 mM NaCl +P. indica, (d) 0 mM NaCl -P. indica, (e) 100 mM NaCl -P. indica, (f) 200 mM NaCl -P. indica. (DOC 1451 KB)

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Yun, P., Xu, L., Wang, SS. et al. Piriformospora indica improves salinity stress tolerance in Zea mays L. plants by regulating Na+ and K+ loading in root and allocating K+ in shoot. Plant Growth Regul 86, 323–331 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-018-0431-3

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