Abstract
Elaeagnus angustifolia L. is a drought-resistant species. Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis is considered to be a bio-ameliorator of saline soils that can improve salinity tolerance in plants. The present study investigated the effects of inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis on the biomass, antioxidant enzyme activities, and root, stem, and leaf ion accumulation of E. angustifolia seedlings grown during salt stress conditions. Salt-stressed mycorrhizal seedlings produced greater root, stem, and leaf biomass than the uninoculated stressed seedlings. In addition, the seedlings colonized by R. irregularis showed notably higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in the leaves of the mycorrhizal seedlings in response to salinity compared to those of the non-mycorrhizal seedlings. Mycorrhizal seedlings not only significantly increased their ability to acquire K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, but also maintained higher K+:Na+ ratios in the leaves and lower Ca2+:Mg2+ ratios than non-mycorrhizal seedlings during salt stress. These results suggest that the salt tolerance of E. angustifolia seedlings could be enhanced by R. irregularis. The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis could be a promising method to restore and utilize salt-alkaline land in northern China.
Highlights
The salinization of soils is a major ecological and agronomic problem, affecting approximately one billion hectares of arid and semiarid areas in the world (Dagar and Minhas, 2016)
Many studies have demonstrated that Abuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is one of the strategies that plants use to grow during a variety of abiotic stress conditions such as low temperature stress, droughts, and salt stress (LopezRaez, 2016)
Colonization demonstrated that E. angustifolia and R. irregularisi established a vigorous symbiosis before the salt stress treatment
Summary
The salinization of soils is a major ecological and agronomic problem, affecting approximately one billion hectares of arid and semiarid areas in the world (Dagar and Minhas, 2016). Salinity is considered to be one of the most important abiotic stresses that affects the establishment, growth, and development of plants, causing important biomass production losses in most of the arid and semiarid regions of the world (Evelin et al, 2009). Many researchers have suggested that AMF might be effective candidates to use in the bio-amelioration of saline soils (Giri et al, 2007)
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