Effects of <i>Epichloë</i> Endophyte and Transgenerational Effects on Physiology of <i>Achnatherum inebrians</i> under Drought Stress
Xuelian Cui,
Xingxu Zhang,
Lielie Shi,
Michael John Christensen,
Zhibiao Nan,
Chao Xia
Affiliations
Xuelian Cui
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, 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, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Lielie Shi
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Michael John Christensen
Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand
Zhibiao Nan
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
Chao Xia
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
The present study explored the effects of an Epichloë endophyte on growth and physiology parameters of drunken horse grass (DHG, Achnatherum inebrians) under four different soil water content. The possible transgenerational effects (TGE) on the above-mentioned indicators were examined. DHG plants with (EI) and without (EF) this Epichloë endophyte, grown from seed of plants from the same seed line, were used. The seeds had originated in the relatively dry site at Yuzhong [YZ(D)], and also used were seed of plants from this original seed-line grown at the relatively wet site Xiahe [XH(W)]. The growth, photosynthesis, phytohormones, and elements were measured. This study showed that the endophyte increased the aboveground biomass and chlorophyll content, with the increasing of photosynthetic parameters. The presence of endophyte also significantly promoted abscisic acid and indolE−3-acetic acid content but decreased the cytokinin content. The nitrogen and phosphorus content of EI plants was significantly higher than that of EF plants, but the endophyte decreased ratios of C:N and C:P at drought condition. In addition, TGE were present, affecting host growth and the above-mentioned parameters, and which indicated that the plants grown from the seeds in YZ(D) site are more competitive than those in the XH(W) site under water deficiency conditions.
