Changes in root-associated fungal communities in Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta L. and Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare L. under drought stress and in various soil processing.

Sylwia Salamon,Katarzyna Mikołajczak,Karolina Ratajczak,Hanna Sulewska,Lidia Błaszczyk,Aimin Zhang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240037

Sylwia Salamon, Katarzyna Mikołajczak + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240037

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Abstract

Plant roots are inhabited by an enormous variety of microorganisms, including fungi, which can control the growth as well as regulate the health of the host plants. The mycobiome composition of the roots of wheat plants, especially spelt, under drought stress has been rarely investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the composition of fungal communities in the root endosphere and rhizosphere of three Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta L. cultivars and one Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare L. cultivar, grown under drought and controlled conditions in different soil preparations. Culture-dependent fungal community profiling was performed to examine the impact of rhizocompartments (endosphere, rhizosphere), host genotype, watering status and different soil preparation on roots mycobiome structure. A total of 117 fungal strains, belonging to 22 genera, were found to colonize the internal and external parts of roots in T. aestivum ssp. spelta L. and T. aestivum ssp. vulgare L. cultivars. The results showed that the part of root and soil preparation type significantly determined the mycobiome composition of wheat roots.

Highlights

Plant roots are inhabited by different types of microorganisms, including fungi, which can control the growth as well as regulate the health of the host plants
A total of 117 fungal strains were isolated from the endosphere and rhizosphere of the common wheat cultivar ‘Dakotana’ and the spelt wheat cultivars ‘Badenstern’, ‘Badenkrone, and ‘Zollernspelz’, grown in three types of soil preparations (control—autoclaved, sterile soil; nonsterile soil—collected from Złotniki Research Station, with a natural microbiological component; autoclaved soil with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (DAOM 197198 strain of R. irregularis) added), under two different growth conditions
We have demonstrated the existence of 20 species (C. australe, F. avenaceum, F. equiseti, F. oxysporum, F. redolens, F. tricinctum, Fusarium sp., G. radicicola, Magnaporthiopsis sp., Marasmius sp., M. bolleyi, M. circinelloides, P. crustosum, Periconia sp., Setophoma sp., S. terrestris, T. ghanense, T. longibrachiatum, W. circinata, Z. pilifera) in the internal parts and on the surface of the roots in common wheat and 31 species

Summary

Introduction

Plant roots are inhabited by different types of microorganisms, including fungi, which can control the growth as well as regulate the health of the host plants. Fungi present in the soil ecosystem act as substantial decomposers of biomass and plant symbionts and pose threats as serious pathogens. These microorganisms are capable of colonizing both the internal and external parts of the plant organs. Fungi that colonize the internal tissue of a plant (endosphere) throughout or at least a part of their life cycle without manifesting any disease in the host are called endophytes [1] Some of these fungi are known to improve the host’s defense against abiotic and biotic stresses, promote its growth, and reduce/inhibit the expansion of pathogens [2, 3].

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