The bioprotection performance of Piriformospora indica against the root parasite Fusarium verticillioides was studied. We found that maize plants first grown with F. verticillioides and at day 10 inoculated with P. indica showed improvements in biomass, and root length and number as compared with plants grown with F. verticillioides alone. To validate our finding that inoculation with P. indica suppresses colonization by F. verticillioides, we performed PCR analyses using P. indica-and F. verticillioides-specific primers. Our results showed that inoculation with P. indica suppresses further colonization by F. verticillioides. We hypothesized that as the colonization by P. indica increases, the presence of/colonization by F. verticillioides decreases. In roots, catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were found to be higher in F. verticillioides-colonized plants than in noncolonized plants. Increased activity of antioxidant enzymes minimizes the chances of oxidative burst (excessive production of reactive oxygen species), and therefore F. verticillioides might be protected from the oxidative defence system during colonization. We also observed decreased antioxidant enzyme activities in plants first inoculated with F. verticillioides and at day 10 inoculated with P. indica as compared with plants inoculated with F. verticillioides alone. These decreased antioxidant enzyme activities due to the presence of P. indica help the plant to overcome the disease load of F. verticillioides. We propose that P. indica can be used as a bioprotection agent against the root parasite F. verticillioides.
INTRODUCTIONMycorrhizal associations are among the most widespread, intimate and important symbioses in terrestrial ecosystems. Among these, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) represent the most ancient and widespread mycorrhizal symbiosis, and are found in a wide range of land plant species (Harrison, 1997). The successful establishment of this mutualistic association constitutes a strategy to fulfil the nutritional demands of both partners . This requires a balance between the defence responses of the host plant and the nutrient demands of the endophyte, resulting in an altered defence-related gene expression, which has been extensively studied during host colonization by obligate biotrophic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Induction of defence-related genes is most prominent during the early stages of colonization (García-Garrido & Ocampo, 2002), but can also be detected during arbuscule development (Grunwald et al., 2004).The active resistance of plants to colonization by fungi is often expressed by the hypersensitive reaction (HR) of challenged plant cells, and is characterized by reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as by induced rapid and localized death of plant tissue at the site of infection (Ingram, 1978;Tenhaken et al., 1995). At the biochemical level, the rapid generation of ROS, such as superoxide (O { 2 ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), kno...