Improvement of Verticillium Wilt Resistance by Applying Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to a Cotton Variety with High Symbiotic Efficiency under Field Conditions

• Main Authors: Qiang Zhang, Xinpeng Gao, Yanyun Ren, Xinhua Ding, Jiajia Qiu, Ning Li, Fanchang Zeng, Zhaohui Chu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: mycorrhizal colonization; Gossypium hirsutum; Verticillium wilt; symbiotic efficiency; plant growth promotion; resistance; antifungal activity
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/1/241

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in nutrient cycling processes and plant stress resistance. To evaluate the effect of Rhizophagus irregularis CD1 on plant growth promotion (PGP) and Verticillium wilt disease, the symbiotic efficiency of AMF (SEA) was first investigated over a range of 3% to 94% in 17 cotton varieties. The high-SEA subgroup had significant PGP effects in a greenhouse. From these results, the highest-SEA variety of Lumian 1 was selected for a two-year field assay. Consistent with the performance from the greenhouse, the AMF-mediated PGP of Lumian 1 also produced significant results, including an increased plant height, stem diameter, number of petioles, and phosphorus content. Compared with the mock treatment, AMF colonization obviously inhibited the symptom development of Verticillium dahliae and more strongly elevated the expression of pathogenesis-related genes and lignin synthesis-related genes. These results suggest that AMF colonization could lead to the mycorrhiza-induced resistance (MIR) of Lumian 1 to V. dahliae. Interestingly, our results indicated that the AMF endosymbiont could directly inhibit the growth of phytopathogenic fungi including V. dahliae by releasing undefined volatiles. In summary, our results suggest that stronger effects of AMF application result from the high-SEA.