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[SANET-MG] fungal endophyte for organic insect control
Published online before print September 8, 2005
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0504423102
Agricultural Sciences
The endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica reprograms barley to
salt-stress tolerance, disease resistance, and higher yield
Frank Waller *, Beate Achatz *, Helmut Baltruschat *, József Fodor ,
Katja Becker ¶, Marina Fischer ¶, Tobias Heier *, Ralph Hückelhoven *,
Christina Neumann *, Diter von Wettstein ||, Philipp Franken , and
Karl-Heinz Kogel *,**
*Institute of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, University of Giessen,
D-35392 Giessen, Germany; Institute for Vegetables and Ornamental Crops,
D-14979 Grossbeeren, Germany; Plant Protection Institute, Hungarian
Academy of Sciences, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary; ¶Institute of Nutritional
Biochemistry, University of Giessen, D-35392 Giessen, Germany; and
||Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University,
Pullman, WA 99164-6420
Disease resistance strategies are powerful approaches to sustainable
agriculture because they reduce chemical input into the environment.
Recently, Piriformospora indica, a plant-root-colonizing basidiomycete
fungus, has been discovered in the Indian Thar desert and was shown to
provide strong growth-promoting activity during its symbiosis with a
broad spectrum of plants [Verma, S. et al. (1998) Mycologia 90,
896-903]. Here, we report on the potential of P. indica to induce
resistance to fungal diseases and tolerance to salt stress in the
monocotyledonous plant barley. The beneficial effect on the defense
status is detected in distal leaves, demonstrating a systemic induction
of resistance by a root-endophytic fungus. The systemically altered
"defense readiness" is associated with an elevated antioxidative
capacity due to an activation of the glutathione-ascorbate cycle and
results in an overall increase in grain yield. Because P. indica can be
easily propagated in the absence of a host plant, we conclude that the
fungus could be exploited to increase disease resistance and yield in
crop plants.
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