Open Access

ARTICLE

Effects of Piriformospora indica on the Respiration of Taxus chinensis var. mairei under Water Stress

Longsheng Hu, Xinru He, Pujie Wei, Bing Sun, Yongjun Fei, Die Hu^*

College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China

* Corresponding Author: Die Hu. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Plant Ecophysiology: Recent Trends and Advancements)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2021, 90(6), 1661-1672. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.015871

Received 20 January 2021; Accepted 31 March 2021; Issue published 28 June 2021

Abstract

Seedlings of Taxus chinensis var. mairei were used as experimental materials to study the adaptation of Piriformospora indica to this plant under water stress. The materials were divided into two groups, namely, with or without inoculation with P. indica. Each group was subjected to four different levels of water stress. Vitality and physiological and biochemical indexes of the roots of T. chinensis var. mairei were regularly measured. Under water stress, T. chinensis var. mairei had significantly decreased root vitality; root vitality was higher in inoculated roots than in uninoculated roots. Under intense water stress, the inoculated roots had a higher soluble sugar content than the uninoculated roots. Under water stress, T. chinensis var. mairei experienced decreased activity of aerobic respiratory metabolic enzymes. The activity of anaerobic respiratory metabolic enzymes and alcohol dehydrogenase initially increased and then decreased, whereas that of lactate dehydrogenase increased. The inoculated roots had a higher activity of respiratory metabolic enzymes than the uninoculated roots. As water stress was further intensified, the roots had significantly decreased activity of aerobic respiratory metabolic enzymes and significantly increased activity of anaerobic respiratory metabolic enzymes. The activity of respiratory metabolic enzymes decreased faster in the uninoculated roots than in the inoculated roots. This study demonstrated that Piriformospora indica plays a positive role in enhancing the antihypoxic ability of T. chinensis var. mairei, thereby alleviating plant damage due to water stress.

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Keywords

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