Fungal endophytes from salt-adapted plants confer salt tolerance and promote growth in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at early seedling stage

Abstract

With increasing human global population, increased yield under saline conditions is a desirable trait for major food crops. Use of endophytes, isolated from halophytic hosts, seems to be an exciting approach for conferring salt tolerance to a salt-sensitive crop. Therefore, in the current study, fungal endophytes were isolated from halophytic plants’ roots and their ability to withstand in vitro salt stress was evaluated. The fungal endophytes could withstand up to 1M NaCl concentrations and this tolerance was independent of their host or tissue source. When inoculated on salt-sensitive wheat seeds/seedlings, several of the endophytes showed a positive impact on germination and biomass-related parameters upon salt stress, both in vitro and under glasshouse conditions. One of the isolates from dicot plants (identified as Microsphaeropsis arundinis) could successfully colonize wheat and promote its growth under salt and no-salt conditions. Amongst the fungal isolates that are known to be natural endophytes of wheat, Chaetomium globosum was the best performing isolate and has previously been reported to be an effective biocontrol agent. Based on the results of our preliminary study, we suggest that these fungal endophytes could prove beneficial for enhancing the salt stress tolerance of wheat crop.

Enhancing Wheat Resilience to Salinity: The Role of Penicillium chrysogenum as a Biological Agent for Improved Crop Performance

“…Control seeds (without inoculation) were incubated in distilled water containing 20% Tween for 6 hours. Seeds were then sown in autoclaved loamy sand within 30 cm tall pots with a 22 cm diameter (Manjunatha et al 2022 Osmolyte Quanti cation. Proline and soluble carbohydrate levels were quanti ed to assess osmotic adjustment in response to salinity stress.…”

“…The most signi cant rise in mean germination time (MGT) was noted with the fungal endophyte at 50 and 100 mM salt stress, registering increases of 13.98% and 10.48%, respectively, relative to the control. Endophytes residing in wheat not only enhance seedling growth but also impart salt tolerance to the host(Manjunatha et al 2022). Notably, endophyte treatment conferred an advantage to wheat seeds in germination and biomass attributes under saline conditions.…”