Desert-adapted fungal endophytes induce salinity and drought stress resistance in model crops

Abiotic stresses are among the most damaging and ever-increasing threats to crop production worldwide. Utilizing extreme-habitat-adapted symbiotic microorganisms is a well-known strategy to mitigate the destructive effects of abiotic stresses on agricultural products. Here, we show the effects of the inoculation of halotolerant endophytic fungi recovered from desert plants on drought and salinity stress tolerance in two model agricultural plants A Periconia and two Neocamarosporium species were selected for this study after an in vitro halotolerant assay. Then, a random block design with three factors including fungi, salinity, and drought treatments was used to investigate the ability of these endophytes to induce stress resistance in tomato and cucumber plants. Physiological markers including proline content and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase enzymes; as well as growth parameters and chlorophyll contents were assessed in all model plants. Fungal symbiosis increased chlorophyll concentration and plant growth, under all levels of salinity and drought stress. In model plants associated with P. macrospinosa significant increase in proline content and antioxidant enzymatic activities was observed under all levels of the salinity and drought stresses compared to the endophyte-free plants, while plants associated with the two Neocamarosporium species, indicated significant increasing proline content and antioxidant enzymatic activities only in high levels of the salinity and drought stresses. Our findings provide novel insights into the eco-physiological mechanisms of halotolerant fungal endophyte-mediated drought and salinity stress tolerance in cucumber and tomato plants, which signify the prospective applications of arid and saline habitat adapted endophytes in agricultural systems.