Improved Mineral Acquisition, Sugars Metabolism and Redox Status after Mycorrhizal Inoculation Are the Basis for Tolerance to Vanadium Stress in C3 and C4 Grasses

Samy Selim; Walid Abuelsoud; Salam S Alsharari; Bassam F Alowaiesh; Mohammad M Al-Sanea; Soad Al Jaouni; Mahmoud M Y Madany; Hamada AbdElgawad

doi:10.3390/jof7110915

Improved Mineral Acquisition, Sugars Metabolism and Redox Status after Mycorrhizal Inoculation Are the Basis for Tolerance to Vanadium Stress in C3 and C4 Grasses

J Fungi (Basel). 2021 Oct 27;7(11):915. doi: 10.3390/jof7110915.

Authors

Samy Selim¹, Walid Abuelsoud², Salam S Alsharari³, Bassam F Alowaiesh³, Mohammad M Al-Sanea⁴, Soad Al Jaouni⁵, Mahmoud M Y Madany^{2

6}, Hamada AbdElgawad^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
³ Biology Department, College of Science, Jouf University, Sakaka P.O. Box 72341, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Aljouf Province, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Hematology/Pediatric Oncology, Yousef Abdulatif Jameel Scientific Chair of Prophetic Medicine Application, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Biology Department, College of Science, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah 41411, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt.
⁸ Integrated Molecular Plant Physiology Research, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium.

Abstract

Vanadium (V) can be beneficial or toxic to plant growth and the interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and V stress was rarely investigated at physiological and biochemical levels of plant groups (C3 and C4) and organs (roots and shoots). We tested the potential of AMF to alleviate the negative effects of V (350 mg V/Kg soil) on shoots and roots of rye and sorghum. Relative to sorghum (C4), rye (C3) showed higher levels of V and lower levels of key elements under V stress conditions. V inhibited growth, photosynthesis, and induced photorespiration (increased HDR & GO activities) and oxidative damage in both plants. AMF colonization reduced V stress by differently mitigating the oxidative stress in rye and sorghum. This mitigation was accompanied with increases in acid and alkaline phosphatase activities in plant roots and increased organic acids and polyphenols exudation into the soil, thus reduced V accumulation (29% and 58% in rye and sorghum shoot, respectively) and improved absorption of mineral nutrients including Ca, Mg and P. AMF colonization improved photosynthesis and increased the sugar accumulation and metabolism. Sugars also acted as a supplier of C skeletons for producing of antioxidants metabolite such as ascorbate. At the antioxidant level, rye was more responsive to the mitigating impact of AMF. Higher antioxidants and detoxification defence system (MTC, GST, phenolics, tocopherols and activities of CAT, SOD and POX) was recorded for rye, while sorghum (C4) improved its GR activity. The C3/C4-specificity was supported by principal component analysis. Together, this study provided both fundamental and applied insights into practical strategies to mitigate the phytotoxicity hazards of V in C3 and C4 grasses. Moreover, our results emphasize the importance of AMF as an environment-friendly factor to alleviate stress effects on plants and to improve growth and yield of unstressed plants.

Keywords: antioxidant biosynthesis; mycorrhiza; primary metabolism; redox status; tolerance; vanadium stress.

Grants and funding

375213500/Al Jouf University