Endophytic Fungi Accelerate Leaf Physiological Activity and Resveratrol Accumulation in Polygonum cuspidatum by Up-Regulating Expression of Associated Genes

Abstract

Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc. is a major raw material for the extraction of drugs such as resveratrol, while the over-exploitation of P. cuspidatum decreases the yield and drug components. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of inoculation with root endophytic fungi Funneliformis mosseae and Piriformospora indica singly or in combination in biomass production, physiological activities (e.g., chlorophyll, soluble protein, and gas exchange) and main medicinal ingredients of P. cuspidatum, accompanied by the expression levels of associated genes in resveratrol biosynthesis. Single and co-inoculation with P. indica significantly improved shoot and root biomass production, and single and co-inoculation with F. mosseae and P. indica, especially single P. indica, significantly promoted leaf chlorophyll and soluble-protein concentrations and improved leaf gas exchange, including photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and intercellular CO2 concentration. The application of endophytic fungi increased resveratrol and polydatin concentrations, while it affected chrysophanol, emodin, and physcion concentrations in a complex manner. In addition, F. mosseae inoculation and co-inoculation induced the expression of PcCRS1, PcRS11, PcRS, and PcSTS, and only single F. mosseae and P. indica inoculation up-regulated the expression of PcCHS1 and PcCHS2. It was concluded that endophytic fungi accelerated biomass production, leaf physiological activity, and resveratrol accumulation in P. cuspidatum, which was associated with the up-regulation of related gene expression in resveratrol biosynthesis.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and phosphorus supply accelerate main medicinal component production of Polygonum cuspidatum

“…The six genes associated with the synthesis of medicinal ingredients were screened in the NCBI database, and then Primer Premier 5.0 was used to design primer sequences ( Supplementary Table S1 ) for selected genes. qRT-PCR was conducted according to the protocol of Sun et al (2022b) . Each gene had three biological replicates, and each biological replicate contained three technical replicates.…”

Significance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Mitigating Abiotic Environmental Stress in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: A Review

“…Some studies have reported that mycorrhizal MAPs such as liquorice ( Glycyrrhiza uralensis ) [ 40 ], pangola-grass Digitaria eriantha [ 39 ], and Polygonum cuspidatum [ 212 ] showed an increase in stomatal conductance, thereby increasing their photosynthetic rate. Indeed, it has been well demonstrated that water stress prompts stomatal closure, causing a reduction in CO 2 availability, which reduces photosynthesis in plants [ 100 ].…”

Use of Serendipita indica to improve soybean growth, physiological properties, and soil enzymatic activities under different Cd concentrations

“…S. indica can be successfully colonized in soybean roots, and the increase of Cd concentration in soil led to the decrease of soybean root colonization rate [12], which can be attributed to the toxicity of Cd to soybean improves the immunity of soybean under stress.…”

“…Besides, the antioxidant defense system of the plant can be enhanced by the fungus, which has a vital role in resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses [11]. S. indica can increase plant photosynthesis, such as leaf transpiration rate and net photosynthetic rate, and improve antioxidant defense capabilities, such as proline and glutathione content to promote plant growth to resist Cd stress [12,13]. S. indica can not only increase soil urease and phosphatase activities to improve plant utilization efficiency of soil nutrients but also increase soil catalase to relieve the toxic effects of hydrogen peroxide [14].…”