Effects of Dark Septate Endophytes Strain A024 on Damping-off Biocontrol, Plant Growth and the Rhizosphere Soil Enviroment of <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> var. <i>mongolica</i> Annual Seedlings

• Main Authors: Xun Deng, Xiaoshuang Song, Saiyaremu Halifu, Wenjing Yu, Ruiqing Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Plants
• Subjects: dark septate endophytes (DSEs); <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> var. <i>mongolica</i>; damping-off biocontrol; growth stimulation; microecological environment in soil
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/7/913

Dark septate endophytes (DSEs) exert a vital role in promoting plant growth, improving mineral absorption, biological disease control, and enhancing plant stress resistance. The effects of dark septate endophyte strain, <i>Phialocephala bamuru</i> A024 on damping-off biocontrol, plant development, nutrients within the rhizosphere soil, as well as bacterial communities in the annual seedlings of <i>P. sylvestris</i> var. <i>Mongolica</i> were studied. According to our findings, following <i>P. bamuru</i> A024 inoculation, the damping-off disease morbidity decreased significantly compared with control, some physiological indices such as β-1,3-glucanase, chitinase enzyme activity as well as a soluble protein and proline content in <i>P. sylvestris</i> var. <i>mongolica</i> were elevated under <i>R. solani</i> stress. After inoculation with <i>P. bamuru</i> A024, the biomass in seedlings, nutrients in soil, root structure index, together with activities of soil enzymes were remarkably up-regulated relative to control (<i>p</i> < 0.05). As suggested by the results of high-throughput sequencing, the microbial structure in the rhizosphere soil of the <i>P. sylvestris</i> var. <i>mongolica</i> showed significant differences (<i>p</i> < 0.05) after <i>P. bamuru</i> A024 inoculation compared to control treatment and the rhizosphere soil bacterial community structure after DSE A024 inoculation was positively correlated to the main soil nutrition indices.