An improved growth medium for enhanced inoculum production of the plant growth-promoting fungusSerendipita indica

Abstract

1The plant endophytic fungus Serendipita indica colonizes roots of a wide range of plant 2 species and can enhance growth and stress resistance of these plants. Due to its ease of axenic 3 cultivation and its broad host plant range including the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and 4 numerous crop plants, it is widely used as a model fungus to study beneficial fungus-root 5 interactions. In addition, it was suggested to be utilized for commercial applications, e.g. to 6 enhance yield in barley and other species. To produce inoculum, S. indica is mostly cultivated 7 in a complex Hill-Käfer medium (CM medium), however, growth in this medium is slow, and 8 yield of chlamydospores, which are often used for plant root inoculation, is relatively low. We 9 tested and optimized a simple vegetable juice-based medium for an enhanced yield of fungal 1 0