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. 2022 Apr 25:13:855890.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.855890. eCollection 2022.

Interactive Effects of Epichloë Endophytes and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Saline-Alkali Stress Tolerance in Tall Fescue

Hui Liu  1 , Huimin Tang  1 , Xiaozhen Ni  1 , Yajie Zhang  1 , Yingchao Wang  1
Affiliations

Interactive Effects of Epichloë Endophytes and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Saline-Alkali Stress Tolerance in Tall Fescue

Hui Liu et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Epichloë endophytes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) are two important symbiotic microorganisms of tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum). Our research explores the combined effects of endophytes and AMF on saline-alkali stress. The finding revealed that a significant interaction between Epichloë endophytes and AMF, and saline-alkali stress occurred in the growth and physiological parameters of tall fescue. Endophyte infection significantly enhanced tall fescue resistance to saline-alkali stress by increasing shoot and root biomass and nutrient uptake (organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus concentration), and accumulating K+ while decreasing Na+ concentration. Furthermore, the beneficial effect of endophytes was enhanced by the beneficial AMF, Claroideoglomus etunicatum (CE) but was reduced by the detrimental AMF, Funneliformis mosseae (FM). Our findings highlight the importance of interactions among multiple microorganisms for plant performance under saline-alkali stress.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; endophyte; interaction; saline-alkali stress; tall fescue.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization rate of tall fescue with (E+) and without (E–) endophytes and colonized with (AMF) and without (M-) AMF under saline-alkali stress. Values are means ± SE. Different letters denote means that are significantly different (P < 0.05).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Biomass in shoots and roots of tall fescue with (E+) and without (E–) endophytes and colonized with (AMF) and without (M-) AMF under saline-alkali stress. (A) shoot biomass, (B) root biomass. Values are means ± SE. Different letters denote means that are significantly different (P < 0.05).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Carbon (C) concentration in shoots and roots of tall fescue with (E+) and without (E–) endophytes and colonized with (AMF) and without (M-) AMF under saline-alkali stress. (A) shoot C concentration, (B) root C concentration. Values are means ± SE. Different letters denote means that are significantly different (P < 0.05).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Nitrogen (N) concentration in shoots and roots of tall fescue with (E+) and without (E–) endophytes and colonized with (AMF) and without (M-) AMF under saline-alkali stress. (A) shoot N concentration, (B) root N concentration. Values are means ± SE. Different letters denote means that are significantly different (P < 0.05).
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Phosphorus (P) concentration in shoots and roots of tall fescue with (E+) and without (E–) endophytes and colonized with (AMF) and without (M-) AMF under saline-alkali stress. (A) shoot P concentration, (B) root P concentration. Values are means ± SE. Different letters denote means that are significantly different (P < 0.05).
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Redundancy analysis (RDA) of Epichloë endophytes (E), AMFs (FM, Funneliformis mosseae and CE, Claroideoglomus etunicatum) and saline-alkali stress (S) on growth and physiological parameters of tall fescue under saline-alkali stress. Shoot biomass (SB), root biomass (RB), shoot C (SC), root C (RC), shoot N (SN), root N (RN), shoot P (SP), root P (RP), shoot Na+ (SNa+), root Na+ (RNa+), shoot K+ (SK+), root K+ (RK+).
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