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Review
. 2019 Sep 19:10:1068.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01068. eCollection 2019.

Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Plant Growth Regulation: Implications in Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Naheeda Begum  1 , Cheng Qin  1 , Muhammad Abass Ahanger  1 , Sajjad Raza  2 , Muhammad Ishfaq Khan  3 , Muhammad Ashraf  4 , Nadeem Ahmed  1   5 , Lixin Zhang  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Plant Growth Regulation: Implications in Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Naheeda Begum et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Abiotic stresses hamper plant growth and productivity. Climate change and agricultural malpractices like excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides have aggravated the effects of abiotic stresses on crop productivity and degraded the ecosystem. There is an urgent need for environment-friendly management techniques such as the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for enhancing crop productivity. AMF are commonly known as bio-fertilizers. Moreover, it is widely believed that the inoculation of AMF provides tolerance to host plants against various stressful situations like heat, salinity, drought, metals, and extreme temperatures. AMF may both assist host plants in the up-regulation of tolerance mechanisms and prevent the down-regulation of key metabolic pathways. AMF, being natural root symbionts, provide essential plant inorganic nutrients to host plants, thereby improving growth and yield under unstressed and stressed regimes. The role of AMF as a bio-fertilizer can potentially strengthen plants' adaptability to changing environment. Thus, further research focusing on the AMF-mediated promotion of crop quality and productivity is needed. The present review provides a comprehensive up-to-date knowledge on AMF and their influence on host plants at various growth stages, their advantages and applications, and consequently the importance of the relationships of different plant nutrients with AMF.

Keywords: abiotic factors; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; mineral nutrition; plant growth; stress tolerance.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A diagrammatic representation of mycorrhizal functions to regulate various processes in the ecosystem and plant growth promotion under abiotic stress condition.
Figure 2
Figure 2
AMF inoculation alleviates temperature stress in plants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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