Objectives The study aims to investigate the effects of endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica (P. indica) on root H+-ATPase of upland rice under moderate drought stress. Further, we analyzed the molecular physiological mechanism of P. indica in improving the drought tolerance of upland rice.
Methods Plants inoculated with P. indica-GFP were grown under moderately dry soil at 14 h light (26℃)/10 h dark (22℃) conditions. After 2 weeks, the extent of plant inoculation with P. indica-GFP was determined using a confocal laser scanning microscope. We investigated the effects of P. indica on the root plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase of upland rice, rice growth, root IAA concentration, and the relative expression of (PM) H+-ATPase genes under moderate drought stress.
Results The plants colonized with P. indica showed higher relative expression of auxin-related genes, root IAA concentration, proton release, PM H+-ATPase, and root hair length than the control group. Under moderate drought stress, the plants colonized with P. indica had higher root PM H+-ATPase genes expression than the control group. In addition, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, total root length, and root hair length of colonized plants were significantly higher than those of the control plants under moderate drought stress.
Conclusions Our results suggest that P. indica modulates root hair length of upland rice by facilitating root auxin concentration and PM H+-ATPase.
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