Mycorrhizal fungi enhance flooding tolerance of peach through inducing proline accumulation and improving root architecture

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae on plant growth, root architecture, and proline metabolism in roots of peach (Prunes persica L.) under non-flooding and flooding conditions. The 12-day flooding dramatically inhibited root colonisation of G. mosseae, but induced a large number of extraradical mycelia. Although the flooding treatment also relatively inhibited growth and root architecture of peach, the mycorrhizal fungal inoculation dramatically increased shoot and root biomass, plant height, stem diameter, number of 1<sup>st</sup>- and 2<sup>nd</sup>-order lateral roots, root total length (mainly 0–1 cm and > 3 cm long), root surface area, and root volume under flooding. The study also revealed distinctly higher proline accumulation in the roots of mycorrhizal plants than non-mycorrhizal plants under both non-flooding and flooding conditions, accompanied by higher Δ<sup>1</sup>-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS) activity and lower δ-ornithine transaminase and proline dehydrogenase activities. In addition, the PpP5CS1 gene expression was up-regulated by flooding and mycorrhization. This study concluded that mycorrhizal fungi enhanced flooding tolerance of peach through inducing proline accumulation and improving root architecture.

Microbial Biostimulants as Response to Modern Agriculture Needs: Composition, Role and Application of These Innovative Products

“…On the other hand, non-enzymatic antioxidants, such as polyphenols, organic acids, vitamins, carotenoids, and glutathione, are also involved in the interaction of PGPMs and plants, influencing their responses to oxidative stress. For example, it was previously highlighted that the accumulation of proline and glycine-betaine may be useful for preventing cellular oxidative damage, in both AMF [ 29 , 60 ] and PGPR [ 41 , 57 , 61 ] inoculated plants. An exception was reported by Moreno-Galván et al, who described conflicting data regarding proline in PGPR-plant tissues when compared with non-inoculated drought stressed plants [ 58 ].…”

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis for Better Adaptation of Trees to Abiotic Stress Caused by Climate Change in Temperate and Boreal Forests

“…The few studies on AM trees under flood conditions are related to improving growth and development (e.g., citrus, peach, or trifoliate orange trees) by acting on the phosphorus and nitrogen acquisition (Neto et al, 2006;Fougnies et al, 2007;Wu et al, 2012;Zou et al, 2014;Zheng et al, 2020) and on the expression of aquaporins (Cheng X. F. et al, 2021). Even that it is commonly known that ethylene accumulation within the plant tissues is one of the main responses of plants to waterlogged conditions, this information on mycorrhizal trees is largely lacking.…”

Impacts of Agriculture on the Environment and Soil Microbial Biodiversity

“…Several studies demonstrate that the addition of Rhizophagus irregularis or Glomus mosseae, both types of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), facilitates plant growth by enhancing the absorption of nutrient elements, such as phosphorous, and by promoting proline accumulation and improving root architecture under flooding conditions [66,67]. Furthermore, PGPB, such as Pseudomonas fluorescens REN 1 and Pseudomonas putida UW4, have been used to protect plants such as Rumex palustris from floods owing to their ability to promote root elongation in plants through the activity of ACC deaminase and by reducing the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) under constant flooded conditions [68,69].…”