Soil salinization constitutes a significant global environmental challenge, seriously threatening the health and stability of various ecosystems. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) may enhance the adaptability of plants to salt stress, thus selecting EMF-plant symbiosis with high salt tolerance is essential for ecological restoration of salinized land. In this study, three different EMF (Pisolithus tinctorius, Tuber pseudoexcavatum and Suillus grevillea) strains were inoculated to Quercus nuttallii seedlings subjected to different salinity levels (S0: no NaCl addition, S1: 1 ‰ NaCl per pot, S2: 2 ‰ NaCl per pot, S3: 3 ‰ NaCl per pot) in greenhouse condition, to explore the mechanism and efficacy of EMF inoculation in mitigating salt stress in plants. Our results indicated that the colonization rate of P. tinctorius and S. grevillea on Q. nuttallii seedlings increased at treatment S1 and declined with increasing salt stress, while the colonization rate of T. pseudoexcavatum significantly decreased with increasing salt stress. EMF inoculation improved the growth performance (height, basal diameter, dry biomass) of Q. nuttallii seedlings under salt stress, through enhancing the nutrient absorption (nitrogen and phosphorus) and the chlorophyll concentration. EMF facilitated the production of soluble sugars, thereby improving the tolerance of Q. nuttallii to osmotic stress. Moreover, EMF mitigated the oxidative damage of Q. nuttallii seedlings under salt stress, substantially decreased the contents of malondialdehyde, through bolstering plant protection antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase). Comprehensive evaluation indicated that S. grevillea showed the strongest ability to modify the growth performance and tolerance of Q. nuttallii seedlings across all NaCl levels, suggesting that S. grevillea-Q. nuttallii associations is promising for the restoration and revegetation of the sites with soil salinization.
Three ectomycorrhizal fungal inoculum modifies the growth performance and tolerance of Quercus nuttallii seedlings under salt stress
Stefano Chelli;Zhengxue Zhu;
2026-01-01
Abstract
Soil salinization constitutes a significant global environmental challenge, seriously threatening the health and stability of various ecosystems. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) may enhance the adaptability of plants to salt stress, thus selecting EMF-plant symbiosis with high salt tolerance is essential for ecological restoration of salinized land. In this study, three different EMF (Pisolithus tinctorius, Tuber pseudoexcavatum and Suillus grevillea) strains were inoculated to Quercus nuttallii seedlings subjected to different salinity levels (S0: no NaCl addition, S1: 1 ‰ NaCl per pot, S2: 2 ‰ NaCl per pot, S3: 3 ‰ NaCl per pot) in greenhouse condition, to explore the mechanism and efficacy of EMF inoculation in mitigating salt stress in plants. Our results indicated that the colonization rate of P. tinctorius and S. grevillea on Q. nuttallii seedlings increased at treatment S1 and declined with increasing salt stress, while the colonization rate of T. pseudoexcavatum significantly decreased with increasing salt stress. EMF inoculation improved the growth performance (height, basal diameter, dry biomass) of Q. nuttallii seedlings under salt stress, through enhancing the nutrient absorption (nitrogen and phosphorus) and the chlorophyll concentration. EMF facilitated the production of soluble sugars, thereby improving the tolerance of Q. nuttallii to osmotic stress. Moreover, EMF mitigated the oxidative damage of Q. nuttallii seedlings under salt stress, substantially decreased the contents of malondialdehyde, through bolstering plant protection antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase). Comprehensive evaluation indicated that S. grevillea showed the strongest ability to modify the growth performance and tolerance of Q. nuttallii seedlings across all NaCl levels, suggesting that S. grevillea-Q. nuttallii associations is promising for the restoration and revegetation of the sites with soil salinization.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
