Several Yeast Species Induce Iron Deficiency Responses in Cucumber Plants (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a first-order agronomic problem that causes a significant decrease in crop yield and quality. Paradoxically, Fe is very abundant in most soils, mainly in its oxidized form, but is poorly soluble and with low availability for plants. In order to alleviate this situation, plants develop different morphological and physiological Fe-deficiency responses, mainly in their roots, to facilitate Fe mobilization and acquisition. Even so, Fe fertilizers, mainly Fe chelates, are widely used in modern agriculture, causing environmental problems and increasing the costs of production, due to the high prices of these products. One of the most sustainable and promising alternatives to the use of agrochemicals is the better management of the rhizosphere and the beneficial microbial communities presented there. The main objective of this research has been to evaluate the ability of several yeast species, such as Debaryomyces hansenii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Hansenula polymorpha, to induce Fe-deficiency responses in cucumber plants. To date, there are no studies on the roles played by yeasts on the Fe nutrition of plants. Experiments were carried out with cucumber plants grown in a hydroponic growth system. The effects of the three yeast species on some of the most important Fe-deficiency responses developed by dicot (Strategy I) plants, such as enhanced ferric reductase activity and Fe2+ transport, acidification of the rhizosphere, and proliferation of subapical root hairs, were evaluated. The results obtained show the inductive character of the three yeast species, mainly of Debaryomyces hansenii and Hansenula polymorpha, on the Fe-deficiency responses evaluated in this study. This opens a promising line of study on the use of these microorganisms as Fe biofertilizers in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.

Entomopathogenic Fungi-Mediated Solubilization and Induction of Fe Related Genes in Melon and Cucumber Plants

“…Relative to the fungus species we found arbuscular mycorrhizal [ 87 , 88 ], Trichoderma asperellum and Trichoderma harzianum [ 89 , 90 ]. Recently, Lucena et al [ 91 ] found that two yeast strain, Debaromyces hansenii and Hansenula polymorpha were able to induce Fe deficiency responses in cucumber plants. However, any works relative to IPF as Fe deficiency responses inductor can be found in the literature.…”

Exploring the Role of Debaryomyces hansenii as Biofertilizer in Iron-Deficient Environments to Enhance Plant Nutrition and Crop Production Sustainability

“…In this work, we take a further step towards optimizing the use of yeasts as growth promoters and for enhancing plant nutrition. Although, both D. hansenii and H. polymorpha showed a remarkable ability to induce Fe deficiency responses, this study specifically Locally, some rhizosphere microorganisms can induce Fe deficiency responses, contributing to an improvement of plant nutrition and, as consequence, promoting plant growth and alleviating Fe chlorosis [1,2,10,11,26]. Created with BioRender.com.…”

“…Ashley) plants, such as ferric reductase activity and rhizosphere acidification, and to increase the expression of Fe acquisition genes, including FRO1 (ferric reductase oxidase 1), IRT1 (iron-regulated transporter 1), and HA1 (H + -ATPase 1). Furthermore, both D. hansenii and H. polymorpha fostered the development of subapical root hairs, a characteristic morphological response to Fe deficiency [2] (Figure 1). Locally, some rhizosphere microorganisms can induce Fe deficiency responses, contributing to an improvement of plant nutrition and, as consequence, promoting plant growth and alleviating Fe chlorosis [1,2,10,11,26].…”

“…Furthermore, both D. hansenii and H. polymorpha fostered the development of subapical root hairs, a characteristic morphological response to Fe deficiency [2] (Figure 1). Locally, some rhizosphere microorganisms can induce Fe deficiency responses, contributing to an improvement of plant nutrition and, as consequence, promoting plant growth and alleviating Fe chlorosis [1,2,10,11,26]. Created with BioRender.com.…”

Editorial: Beneficial microbes and the interconnection between crop mineral nutrition and induced systemic resistance, volume II

“…A broad interest has been developed for this topic during the last years (e.g. Garcia et al, 2016;Guerrero-Galań et al, 2018;Garcia et al, 2020;Lucena et al, 2021b). In this context, the study by Shan et al dealing with the beneficial effects of mycorrhizal fungi for orchid growth is clearly demonstrating an improvement in nitrogen uptake.…”