How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis?
Abstract Background Leymus chinensis is a vital, dominant grass species in Eurasian temperate grasslands, including the Inner Mongolian steppe. L. chinensis exhibits enhanced drought tolerance through symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The physiological mechanisms behind this drought...
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BMC
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06412-1 |
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| author | Xiaojiang Yang Zhen Wang Jing Li Paul C. Struik Shenyi Jiang Ke Jin Huaibin Mu |
| author_facet | Xiaojiang Yang Zhen Wang Jing Li Paul C. Struik Shenyi Jiang Ke Jin Huaibin Mu |
| author_sort | Xiaojiang Yang |
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| description | Abstract Background Leymus chinensis is a vital, dominant grass species in Eurasian temperate grasslands, including the Inner Mongolian steppe. L. chinensis exhibits enhanced drought tolerance through symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The physiological mechanisms behind this drought resistance need to be unraveled. A pot experiment was conducted with four inoculation treatments (inoculation with Funneliformis mosseae, with Claroideoglomus etunicatum, or with both, and no inoculation) and three drought treatments (no drought (75.00% field capacity), mild drought (56.25% field capacity), severe drought (37.50% field capacity)) to analyze how AMF enhance drought resistance of L. chinensis. Results The results showed that drought stress inhibited the growth of L. chinensis, depending on its intensity, whereas AMF inoculation significantly improved growth and alleviated the effects of drought stress. Regardless of drought conditions, AMF inoculation significantly enhanced key biochemistry parameters, including soluble sugar concentration and antioxidant enzyme activities, ultimately promoting plant productivity. Structural equation models (SEMs) further showed that the increase in biomass of L. chinensis inoculated with AMF during mild drought was primarily due to reduced catalase activity and increased cytokinin concentration by increased soluble sugar concentration. However, under severe drought, the increase in biomass of L. chinensis inoculated with AMF was associated with increased soluble sugar concentration caused by increased peroxidase activity and reduced cytokinin concentration. Conclusions The mechanisms by which AMF enhance the drought resistance of L. chinensis vary depending on the severity of drought. AMF increase the soluble sugar concentration by enhancing photosynthetic activity to improve drought resistance under mild drought. Under severe drought conditions, AMF enhance the concentration of soluble sugars in L. chinensis by further activating the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes, thereby improving its drought resistance. Additionally, C. etunicatum maintains high ectomycelium by requiring less carbon sources to efficiently absorb the residual soil moisture under severe drought, thus superiorly enhancing the drought resistance of L. chinensis. This study provides a theoretical foundation for the application of AMF fertilizer to improve the productivity of L. chinensis in arid grasslands. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-1af97dbc456a43738832ea66a968d0db2025-08-20T02:11:41ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-04-0125111410.1186/s12870-025-06412-1How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis?Xiaojiang Yang0Zhen Wang1Jing Li2Paul C. Struik3Shenyi Jiang4Ke Jin5Huaibin Mu6Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesCentre for Crop Systems Analysis, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University and ResearchInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesAbstract Background Leymus chinensis is a vital, dominant grass species in Eurasian temperate grasslands, including the Inner Mongolian steppe. L. chinensis exhibits enhanced drought tolerance through symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The physiological mechanisms behind this drought resistance need to be unraveled. A pot experiment was conducted with four inoculation treatments (inoculation with Funneliformis mosseae, with Claroideoglomus etunicatum, or with both, and no inoculation) and three drought treatments (no drought (75.00% field capacity), mild drought (56.25% field capacity), severe drought (37.50% field capacity)) to analyze how AMF enhance drought resistance of L. chinensis. Results The results showed that drought stress inhibited the growth of L. chinensis, depending on its intensity, whereas AMF inoculation significantly improved growth and alleviated the effects of drought stress. Regardless of drought conditions, AMF inoculation significantly enhanced key biochemistry parameters, including soluble sugar concentration and antioxidant enzyme activities, ultimately promoting plant productivity. Structural equation models (SEMs) further showed that the increase in biomass of L. chinensis inoculated with AMF during mild drought was primarily due to reduced catalase activity and increased cytokinin concentration by increased soluble sugar concentration. However, under severe drought, the increase in biomass of L. chinensis inoculated with AMF was associated with increased soluble sugar concentration caused by increased peroxidase activity and reduced cytokinin concentration. Conclusions The mechanisms by which AMF enhance the drought resistance of L. chinensis vary depending on the severity of drought. AMF increase the soluble sugar concentration by enhancing photosynthetic activity to improve drought resistance under mild drought. Under severe drought conditions, AMF enhance the concentration of soluble sugars in L. chinensis by further activating the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes, thereby improving its drought resistance. Additionally, C. etunicatum maintains high ectomycelium by requiring less carbon sources to efficiently absorb the residual soil moisture under severe drought, thus superiorly enhancing the drought resistance of L. chinensis. This study provides a theoretical foundation for the application of AMF fertilizer to improve the productivity of L. chinensis in arid grasslands.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06412-1Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungiPlant physiology and biochemistryLeymus chinensisDrought resistance mechanism |
| spellingShingle | Xiaojiang Yang Zhen Wang Jing Li Paul C. Struik Shenyi Jiang Ke Jin Huaibin Mu How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis? BMC Plant Biology Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Plant physiology and biochemistry Leymus chinensis Drought resistance mechanism |
| title | How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis? |
| title_full | How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis? |
| title_fullStr | How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis? |
| title_short | How do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of Leymus chinensis? |
| title_sort | how do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance drought resistance of leymus chinensis |
| topic | Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Plant physiology and biochemistry Leymus chinensis Drought resistance mechanism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06412-1 |
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