Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i>
Water stress is the most critical aspect restricting the development of agriculture in regions with scarce water resources, which requires enhancing irrigation water-saving strategies. The current work discusses the potential application of the plant-strengthening root endophyte <i>Piriformosp...
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/10/399 |
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| author | Mohamed E. Abdelaziz Mohamed A. M. Atia Mohamed Abdelsattar Suzy M. Abdelaziz Taha A. A. Ibrahim Emad A. Abdeldaym |
| author_facet | Mohamed E. Abdelaziz Mohamed A. M. Atia Mohamed Abdelsattar Suzy M. Abdelaziz Taha A. A. Ibrahim Emad A. Abdeldaym |
| author_sort | Mohamed E. Abdelaziz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water stress is the most critical aspect restricting the development of agriculture in regions with scarce water resources, which requires enhancing irrigation water-saving strategies. The current work discusses the potential application of the plant-strengthening root endophyte <i>Piriformospora indica</i> against moderate (25% less irrigation water) and severe (50% less irrigation water) water stress in comparison to the optimum irrigation conditions of greenhouse cucumbers. <i>P. indica</i> improved growth, nutrient content, and photosynthesis apparatus under normal or water-stress conditions. On the other hand, moderate and severe water stress reduced yield up to 47% and 83%, respectively, in non-colonized cucumber plants, while up to 28 and 78%, respectively, in <i>P. indica</i>-colonized plants. In terms of water-use efficiency (WUE), <i>P. indica</i> improved the WUE of colonized cucumber plants grown under moderate (26 L/kg) or severe stress (73 L/kg) by supporting colonized plants in producing higher yield per unit volume of water consumed by the crop in comparison to non-colonized plants under the same level of moderate (43 L/kg) or severe (81 L/kg) water stress. Furthermore, <i>P. indica</i> increased the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content, activity levels of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) with an apparent clear reduction in the abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline contents and stomatal closure compared to non-stressed plants under both water-stress levels. In addition, chlorophyll <i>a</i>, <i>b</i>, <i>a + b</i> contents were increased in the leaves of the colonized plants under water-stress conditions. This improvement in chlorophyll content could be correlated with a significant increment in the transcripts of chlorophyll biosynthesis genes (protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase [POR], chlorophyll a oxygenase [CAO]) and a reduction in the chlorophyll degradation genes (PPH, pheophorbide a oxygenase [PAO], and red chlorophyll catabolite reductase [RCCR]). In conclusion, <i>P. indica</i> has the potential to enhance the cucumber yield grown under moderate water stress rather than severe water stress by improving WUE and altering the activity levels of antioxidant enzymes and chlorophyll metabolism-related genes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:32:08Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:32:08Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-d041c36b4dfd48eba782cb244e37ded82023-11-22T18:27:44ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242021-10-0171039910.3390/horticulturae7100399Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i>Mohamed E. Abdelaziz0Mohamed A. M. Atia1Mohamed Abdelsattar2Suzy M. Abdelaziz3Taha A. A. Ibrahim4Emad A. Abdeldaym5Department of Vegetable, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, EgyptMolecular Genetic and Genome Mapping Laboratory, Genome Mapping Department, Agriculture Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agriculture Research Centre (ARC), Giza 12619, EgyptPlant Molecular Biology Department, Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza 12619, EgyptDepartment of Cross-Pollinated Vegetable Crops, Horticulture Research Institute, Giza 12611, EgyptDepartment of Vegetable, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, EgyptDepartment of Vegetable, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, EgyptWater stress is the most critical aspect restricting the development of agriculture in regions with scarce water resources, which requires enhancing irrigation water-saving strategies. The current work discusses the potential application of the plant-strengthening root endophyte <i>Piriformospora indica</i> against moderate (25% less irrigation water) and severe (50% less irrigation water) water stress in comparison to the optimum irrigation conditions of greenhouse cucumbers. <i>P. indica</i> improved growth, nutrient content, and photosynthesis apparatus under normal or water-stress conditions. On the other hand, moderate and severe water stress reduced yield up to 47% and 83%, respectively, in non-colonized cucumber plants, while up to 28 and 78%, respectively, in <i>P. indica</i>-colonized plants. In terms of water-use efficiency (WUE), <i>P. indica</i> improved the WUE of colonized cucumber plants grown under moderate (26 L/kg) or severe stress (73 L/kg) by supporting colonized plants in producing higher yield per unit volume of water consumed by the crop in comparison to non-colonized plants under the same level of moderate (43 L/kg) or severe (81 L/kg) water stress. Furthermore, <i>P. indica</i> increased the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content, activity levels of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) with an apparent clear reduction in the abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline contents and stomatal closure compared to non-stressed plants under both water-stress levels. In addition, chlorophyll <i>a</i>, <i>b</i>, <i>a + b</i> contents were increased in the leaves of the colonized plants under water-stress conditions. This improvement in chlorophyll content could be correlated with a significant increment in the transcripts of chlorophyll biosynthesis genes (protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase [POR], chlorophyll a oxygenase [CAO]) and a reduction in the chlorophyll degradation genes (PPH, pheophorbide a oxygenase [PAO], and red chlorophyll catabolite reductase [RCCR]). In conclusion, <i>P. indica</i> has the potential to enhance the cucumber yield grown under moderate water stress rather than severe water stress by improving WUE and altering the activity levels of antioxidant enzymes and chlorophyll metabolism-related genes.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/10/399<i>Piriformospora indica</i>cucumberWUEchlorophyllwater stressqRT-PCR |
| spellingShingle | Mohamed E. Abdelaziz Mohamed A. M. Atia Mohamed Abdelsattar Suzy M. Abdelaziz Taha A. A. Ibrahim Emad A. Abdeldaym Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i> Horticulturae <i>Piriformospora indica</i> cucumber WUE chlorophyll water stress qRT-PCR |
| title | Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i> |
| title_full | Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i> |
| title_fullStr | Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i> |
| title_short | Unravelling the Role of <i>Piriformospora indica</i> in Combating Water Deficiency by Modulating Physiological Performance and Chlorophyll Metabolism-Related Genes in <i>Cucumis sativus</i> |
| title_sort | unravelling the role of i piriformospora indica i in combating water deficiency by modulating physiological performance and chlorophyll metabolism related genes in i cucumis sativus i |
| topic | <i>Piriformospora indica</i> cucumber WUE chlorophyll water stress qRT-PCR |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/7/10/399 |
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