Abstract
Under the field conditions crop plants interact with diverse microorganisms. These include beneficial (symbiotic) and phytopathogenic microorganisms, which jointly affect growth and productivity of the plants. In last decades, production of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) suffers from increased incidence of potato virus Y (PVY), which is one of most important potato pests. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are common symbionts of potato, however the impact of mycorrhizal symbiosis on the progression of PVY-induced disease is scarcely known. Therefore, in the present study we investigated the effect of joint PVY infection and mycorrhizal colonization by Rhizophagus irregularis on growth traits of the host potato plant (cv. Pirol). The tested PVY isolate belonged to N-Wilga strain group, which is considered to be predominant in Europe and many other parts of the world. The viral particles were concentrated in the leaves, but decreased the root growth. Furthermore, the infection with PVY evoked prolonged oxidative stress reflected by increased level of endogenous H2O2. AMF alleviated oxidative stress in PVY-infected host plants by a substantial decrease in the level of shoot- and root-derived H2O2, but still caused asymptomatic growth depression. It was assumed that mycorrhizal symbiosis of potato might mask infection by PVY in field observations.
Highlights
Plant growth and physiology are affected by both symbionts and phytopathogens co-infecting the same host
Multiplex RT-PCR assay revealed that analyzed potato cultivars, i.e., Pirol, Delikat and Schubert, were infected with N:O/NWi type A recombinant variant of potato virus Y (PVY)
Decreasing concentration of PVY was detected in stems, in Schubert and Pirol the lowest titer of virus was observed in roots
Summary
Plant growth and physiology are affected by both symbionts and phytopathogens co-infecting the same host. It is documented that under the field conditions the majority of crop plants establishes symbiotic association between their roots and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) being an inherent component of each agricultural ecosystem (Smith and Smith, 2011; Van Geel et al, 2016) In this endomycorrhizal relationship both partners benefit from one another. Mycorrhizal plants often display enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress factors (e.g., drought or salinity) and increased resistance to both phytopathogen attack and development of phytopathogen-induced disease (Bücking et al, 2016; Deja-Sikora et al, 2019) These nutritional and nonnutritional (bioprotective) benefits of endomycorrhiza contribute to the improved crop yields and encourage the wide application of AMF-based natural biofertilizers to support the sustainable agriculture systems (Hart et al, 2015; Rouphael et al, 2015; Basu et al, 2018; Bitterlich et al, 2018). AMF are even perceived a key factor for optimization of crop productivity, especially in the low-input agriculture (Verbruggen et al, 2013)
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