Application of Desert DSEs to Nonhost Plants: Potential to Promote Growth and Alleviate Drought Stress of Wheat Seedlings

Xia Li, Yanxia Liu, Qiannan Ye, Minghui Xu and Xueli He ()
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Xia Li: School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
Yanxia Liu: School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
Qiannan Ye: School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
Minghui Xu: School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
Xueli He: School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: To evaluate the applicability of desert dark septate endophytes (DSEs) in crop cultivation, Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl. (Aa), Paraphoma pye Moslemi & P.W.J. Taylor (Pp), and Paraphoma radicina (McAlpine) Morgan-Jones & J.F. White (Pr) were inoculated into nonhost wheat growing under three water conditions. The plants’ biomass, vegetative growth, and physiological parameters were investigated. At harvest, all DSE strains were effective colonizers under all treatments. These DSEs generally positively affected wheat growth but varied among different DSE species, and this promoting effect was more obvious under drought conditions. Under mild drought (MD) treatments, Aa and Pr increased the leaf number and plant height of hosts. Pr showed a significant beneficial influence on the wheat’s total biomass under all treatments, while Aa and Pp showed benefits only under the well-watered or MD treatment. The response mechanisms of DSE-inoculated wheat under stress may be due to the enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and antioxidant system. Generally, Pr had a stronger beneficial effect. The improved growth and fitness of the inoculated hosts under drought stress may reduce their water supply requirements during seedling growth. We speculate that inoculating wheat with this strain could be a promising approach for water-saving cultivation in arid environments.

Keywords: desert; dark septate endophyte; wheat; drought; nonhost plant (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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