Modification of Cuticular Wax Composition and Biosynthesis by <i>Epichloë gansuensis</i> in <i>Achnatherum inebrians</i> at Different Growing Periods
Zhenrui Zhao,
Mei Tian,
Peng Zeng,
Michael J. Christensen,
Mingzhu Kou,
Zhibiao Nan,
Xingxu Zhang
Affiliations
Zhenrui Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Mei Tian
Institute of Horticulture, Ningxia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan 750002, China
Peng Zeng
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Michael J. Christensen
Grasslands Research Centre, Private Bag 11-008, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Mingzhu Kou
Xining Center of Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey, CGS (China Geological Survey), Xining 810000, China
Zhibiao Nan
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Xingxu Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Cuticular wax plays a critical role as a plant protectant against various environmental stresses. We predicted that the presence of the mutualistic fungal endophyte Epichloë gansuensis in Achnatherum inebrians would change both the composition of leaf cuticular wax as plants aged during the growing season and the gene expression levels associated with the wax biosynthesis pathway. Endophyte-infected (EI) and endophyte-free (EF) A. inebrians plants were established for a four-month pot experiment. In agreement with our prediction, the presence of E. gansuensis can change the composition of leaf cuticular wax at different growing periods, particularly the proportion of esters, fatty acids and hydrocarbons. The proportion of fatty acids in EI plants was lower than that in EF plants. The proportion of hydrocarbons increased and esters decreased as plants grew. Furthermore, we found 11 DEGs coding for proteins involved in cuticular wax biosynthesis, including FabF, FAB2, ECR, FAR, CER1, ABCB1 and SEC61A. The present study highlights the significant contribution of E. gansuensis to leaf cuticular wax composition and biosynthesis in A. inebrians plants.
