Endophytic fungus Serendipita indica reduces arsenic mobilization from root to fruit in colonized tomato plant. (1st April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shukla, Jagriti; Mohd, Shayan; Kushwaha, Aparna S.; Narayan, Shiv; Saxena, Prem N.; Bahadur, Lal; Mishra, Aradhana; Shirke, Pramod Arvind; Kumar, Manoj
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 298(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-04-01
• Subjects: Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118830
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: The accumulation of arsenic in crop plants has become a worldwide concern that affects millions of people. The major source of arsenic in crop plants is irrigation water and soil. In this study, Serendipita indica, an endophytic fungus, was used to investigate the protection against arsenic and its accumulation in the tomato plant. We found that inoculation of S. indica recovers seed germination, plant growth and improves overall plant health under arsenic stress. A hyper-colonization of fungus in the plant root was observed under arsenic stress, which results in reduced oxidative stress via modulation of antioxidative enzymes, glutathione, and proline levels. Furthermore, fungal colonization restricts arsenic mobilization from root to shoot and fruit by accumulating it exclusively in the root. We observed that fungal colonization enhances the arsenic bioaccumulation factor 1.48 times in root and reduces the arsenic translocation factor by 2.96 times from root to shoot and 13.6 times from root to fruit compared to non colonized plants. Further, investigation suggests that S. indica can tolerate arsenic by immobilizing it on the cell wall and accumulating it in the vacuole. This study shows that S. indica may be helpful for the reduction of arsenic accumulation in crops grown in arsenic-contaminated agriculture fields. Highlights: Arsenic induces hyper-colonization of fungus Serendipta indica in plant root. Fungal colonization alleviates arsenic stress in colonized plant. Fungus modulates antioxidative system in plants under arsenic stress. S. indica induces arsenic accumulation in root with reduced mobilization to fruit. S. indica adsorbs arsenic on the cell wall and stores it in the vacuole of the cell.