Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress

IntroductionTemporary and extended drought stress accelerates phytohormones and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, however, the fate of the plants under stress is mostly determined by the metabolic and molecular reprogramming, which can be modulated by the application of habitat-adapted fungi...

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Main Authors: Kiran Niaz, Mamoona Rauf, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Hamayun, Humaira Gul, Abeer Hashem, Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah, Qiang-Sheng Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1488639/full
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author Kiran Niaz
Mamoona Rauf
Muhammad Arif
Muhammad Hamayun
Humaira Gul
Abeer Hashem
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
Qiang-Sheng Wu
author_facet Kiran Niaz
Mamoona Rauf
Muhammad Arif
Muhammad Hamayun
Humaira Gul
Abeer Hashem
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
Qiang-Sheng Wu
author_sort Kiran Niaz
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionTemporary and extended drought stress accelerates phytohormones and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, however, the fate of the plants under stress is mostly determined by the metabolic and molecular reprogramming, which can be modulated by the application of habitat-adapted fungi that triggers resistance to stress upon symbiotic association.MethodsThe present research exhibited the exploitation of the newly isolated, drought habitat-adapted fungal endophytic consortium of SAB (Aspergillus oryzae) and CBW (Aspergillus fumigatus), on maize under drought stress. SAB and CBW primarily hosted the root tissues of Conyza bonariensis L., which have not been reported earlier, and sufficiently produced growth-promoting metabolites and antioxidants.ResultsSAB and CBW adeptly inhabited the maize roots. They promoted biomass, primary metabolites, osmolytes (protein, sugar, lipids, proline, phenolics, flavonoids), and IAA production while reducing tannins, ABA, and H2O2 contents and increasing antioxidant enzyme activities. In addition, the enhanced adventitious root development at the root/stem interface, and elongated main root development optimum stomatal activity of SAB- and CBW-inoculated maize plants were observed under drought stress. SAB and CBW modulated the expression of the ZmBSK1, ZmAPX, and ZmCAT1 genes in the maize shoot and root tissues under drought stress vs. control, signifying an essential regulatory function for SAB/CBW-induced drought stress tolerance via phytohormonal signaling pathway leading to the antioxidant upregulation.DiscussionThese findings imply that the exogenous administration of the SAB/CBW consortium might be a rather efficient strategy that contributes to optimizing the physio-hormonal attributes and antioxidant potential to alleviate the drought stress in maize.
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spelling doaj-art-7d6cc76b30d041fd8eb2a4f96db05e3c2025-08-20T02:27:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2024-11-011510.3389/fmicb.2024.14886391488639Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stressKiran Niaz0Mamoona Rauf1Muhammad Arif2Muhammad Hamayun3Humaira Gul4Abeer Hashem5Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah6Qiang-Sheng Wu7Department of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, PakistanDepartment of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, PakistanDepartment of Biotechnology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, PakistanDepartment of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, PakistanDepartment of Botany, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, PakistanBotany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaPlant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, ChinaIntroductionTemporary and extended drought stress accelerates phytohormones and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, however, the fate of the plants under stress is mostly determined by the metabolic and molecular reprogramming, which can be modulated by the application of habitat-adapted fungi that triggers resistance to stress upon symbiotic association.MethodsThe present research exhibited the exploitation of the newly isolated, drought habitat-adapted fungal endophytic consortium of SAB (Aspergillus oryzae) and CBW (Aspergillus fumigatus), on maize under drought stress. SAB and CBW primarily hosted the root tissues of Conyza bonariensis L., which have not been reported earlier, and sufficiently produced growth-promoting metabolites and antioxidants.ResultsSAB and CBW adeptly inhabited the maize roots. They promoted biomass, primary metabolites, osmolytes (protein, sugar, lipids, proline, phenolics, flavonoids), and IAA production while reducing tannins, ABA, and H2O2 contents and increasing antioxidant enzyme activities. In addition, the enhanced adventitious root development at the root/stem interface, and elongated main root development optimum stomatal activity of SAB- and CBW-inoculated maize plants were observed under drought stress. SAB and CBW modulated the expression of the ZmBSK1, ZmAPX, and ZmCAT1 genes in the maize shoot and root tissues under drought stress vs. control, signifying an essential regulatory function for SAB/CBW-induced drought stress tolerance via phytohormonal signaling pathway leading to the antioxidant upregulation.DiscussionThese findings imply that the exogenous administration of the SAB/CBW consortium might be a rather efficient strategy that contributes to optimizing the physio-hormonal attributes and antioxidant potential to alleviate the drought stress in maize.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1488639/fullbeneficial fungal microbesplant–microbe interactiondrought stressphytohormonesmetabolitesmaize
spellingShingle Kiran Niaz
Mamoona Rauf
Muhammad Arif
Muhammad Hamayun
Humaira Gul
Abeer Hashem
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
Qiang-Sheng Wu
Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
Frontiers in Microbiology
beneficial fungal microbes
plant–microbe interaction
drought stress
phytohormones
metabolites
maize
title Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
title_full Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
title_fullStr Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
title_full_unstemmed Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
title_short Drought-tolerant fungal microbes, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus fumigatus, elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
title_sort drought tolerant fungal microbes aspergillus oryzae and aspergillus fumigatus elevate physiohormonal and antioxidant responses of maize under drought stress
topic beneficial fungal microbes
plant–microbe interaction
drought stress
phytohormones
metabolites
maize
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1488639/full
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