Penicillium menonorum: A Novel Fungus to Promote Growth and Nutrient Management in Cucumber Plants

Abstract

The present study is the first report on the isolation of Penicillium menonorum from rhizosphere soil in Korea and its identification based on morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer gene sequence. The fungal isolate was named KNU-3 and was found to exhibit plant growth-promoting (PGP) activity through indole acetic acid (IAA) and siderophore production, as well as P solubilization. KNU-3 produced 9.7 mg/L IAA and solubilized 408 mg of Ca3PO4/L, and inoculation with the isolate significantly (p < 0.05) increased the dry biomass of cucumber roots (57%) and shoots (52%). Chlorophyll, starch, protein, and P contents were increased by 16%, 45%, 22%, and 14%, respectively, compared to plants grown in uninoculated soil. The fungus also increased soil dehydrogenase (30%) and acid phosphatase (19%) activities. These results demonstrate that the isolate KNU-3 has potential PGP attributes, and therefore it can be considered as a new fungus to enhance soil fertility and promote plant growth. Moreover, the discovery of PGP ability and traits of this fungus will open new aspects of research and investigations. In this study, plant growth promotion by P. menonorum KNU-3 is reported for the first time in Korea after its original description.

Diversity of culturable endophytic fungi of Hevea guianensis: A latex producer native tree from the Brazilian Amazon

“…Other fungi genera with potential for biological control of diseases, inductors of plant resistance to abiotic stress and/or growth promoters in plants include Penicillium (Guijarro et al, 2017;Babu et al, 2015;Murali and Amruthesh, 2015), Lasiodiplodia (Xiang et al, 2016), Fusarium (Zhang et al, 2014;Rocha et al, 2011), Purpureocillium (Lopez et al, 2014) and Trichoderma (Ben Amira et al, 2017;Contina et al, 2017;Larran et al, 2016;Mbarga et al, 2014).…”

“…The symbiotic interaction between microorganisms and plants is an alternative to ensure the preservation of native species because it can increase plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses (Zheng et al, 2017;Koide et al, 2017;Saunders et al, 2010;Arnold, 2007), increase plant production (Babu et al, 2015;Murali and Amruthesh, 2015;Khan et al, 2008) and control phytopathogens (Ben Amira et al, 2017;Contina et al, 2017;Larran et al, 2016;Valenzuela et al, 2015;Mbarga et al, 2014;Rocha et al, 2011). However, little is known about the interaction between endophytic fungi and plants from the Amazon.…”

Application and Mechanisms of Plant Growth Promoting Fungi (PGPF) for Phytostimulation

“…Penicillium spp. also enhanced leaf chlorophyll content in cucumber and chili [36,39]. Soil amendment with Aspergillus spp.…”

“…Similarly, inoculation of cucumber plants with Pe. menonorum KNU3 increased cucumber shoot dry biomass by as much as 52% [36]. Stimulated shoot growth by Penicillium spp.…”

SOLUBILIZACIÓN DE FUENTES INORGÁNICAS DE FÓSFORO POR MICROMICETOS AISLADOS DE LA RIZOSFERA DE PAPAYA VAR. MARADOL (Carica papaya L.) Y SU SUSCEPTIBILIDAD A HERBICIDAS CONVENCIONALES

“…5.2 ± 0.08 f NP -1.2 E6 ± 5.5 E4 bc Medias (± error estándar) entre filas con diferente literal son significativamente diferentes entre sí (mínima diferencia significativa, p = 0.05, n = 4) TCDC: tasa de crecimiento diaria de la colonia, TCDH: tasa de crecimiento diaria del halo, IS: índice de solubilización, NP: no presentó, NE: no esporuló, SP: especie de una buena actividad bioquímica de los hongos solubilizadores de P (Babu et al 2015). El contenido total de proteína de una fermentación donde se incluye P insoluble (p.…”