Abstract
Illumina-MiSeq next-generation sequencing of ITS 5.8S rRNA gene demonstrated the transgenerational transmission of fungal seed-endophytes (mycobiome) across three consecutive wheat host generations under standard-control and drought conditions in the greenhouse. Drought-stressed plants experienced a positive shift in the seed mycobiome’s composition, moderated by the external acquisition of endophytic Penicillium (E+) at the seed level. Untreated (E−) and unstressed plants harbor a maximal fungal diversity of non-equilibrium ecological communities. While fungal composition in drought-stressed E− plants experienced important fluctuation, E+ plants maintained fungal ecological communities in phase equilibrium across generations. E+ plants hosted a relatively higher abundance of Ascomycota in the 2nd and 3rd seed generations of wheat, whereas higher abundance of Basidiomycota was detected in 1st generation seeds. The dynamic response of ecological communities to environmental stress is conducive to E+ plants’ active recruitment of endosymbiotic consortia in seeds, benefiting host stress resilience and phenotype. In contrast, E− plants showed an erratic distribution of detected OTUs with an increased occurrence of phytopathogens and diminished plant performance under stress. The present study gives insight into the understanding of the seed-mycobiome composition and dynamics with the potential to improve plant host traits in an adverse environment.
Highlights
The seed is considered as a plant reproductive unit which harbors a diversity of fungal endophytes[1]
Post-hoc Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) test was performed to compare means of the four treatments within each of the generation at P ≤ 0.05. These Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based ITS sequences discriminated core fungal endophytes in seeds of wheat plants subjected to drought stress after inoculation of parental seeds with the plant growth promoter Penicillium sp
The endophytic Penicillium inoculant belongs to C (2)-Trichocomaceae group which represented by a total of 1890 sequence reads distributed in all the treatments across the generations
Summary
The seed is considered as a plant reproductive unit which harbors a diversity of fungal endophytes[1]. Seed-associated fungal microbiomes (mycobiomes) are ubiquitous and potentially important for plant growth and sustainable crop production[2]. Drought is limiting climatic factor to plant physiology and adaptation that might be palliated by the external acquisition of fungal endosymbionts at the seed level. Fungal endosymbionts control seed vitality via mycovitality, improved hydrothermal time of germination and myco-stratification[4,5,17] to initiate plant growth promotion (PGP) under stress conditions[3,18]. Characterizing the innate seed-mycobiome of Triticum with and without the external (horizontal) re-acquisition of the PGP fungus under drought stress can be a crucial step towards the understanding transgenerational transmission of seed endophytes and host-fungi interactions under climate change. The transgenerational re-establishment of the seed-associated fungal communities depicts important points in mycobiome selection under stress towards the climate-resilient plant. Seed endophytic consortia could play multiple roles in plant growth and fitness including host phenotypic traits
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