Ultraviolet induced endophytic aspergillus tamari SK12 revealed faster growth and modulation of physiochemical attributes of okra under copper stress | [Pakistan Journal of Botany • 2024]

Author(s):

1. SUFAID KHAN: Department of Botany, Garden Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

2. MUHAMMAD HAMAYUN: Department of Botany, Garden Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

3. ANWAR HUSSAIN: Department of Botany, Garden Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

4. SUMERA AFZAL KHAN: Center of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar,,Pakistan

5. SAJID ALI: Department of Horticulture and Life Science, Yeungnam University,,Republic of Korea

6. SHUMAILA SIRAJ: Department of Botany, Garden Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

7. ABDULWAHED FAHAD ALREFAEI: Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

8. ZAHID ALI BUTT: Government College Women University Sialkot,,Pakistan

9. HAMZA BACHA: Department of Botany, Garden Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan

Abstract:

In today's world, the most serious environmental and biological problem is the contamination of agricultural lands by the heavy metals. Copper is an essential element for the normal growth of plants but its concentration can build up in soil to a level that can adversely affect plant growth. Endophytic fungi associate with plants and improve their fitness to tolerate environmental stresses. In this work, a plant growth promoting and copper tolerant endophytic fungus, Aspergillus tamari SK12, isolated from plants in contaminated areas was exposed to ultraviolet irradiation for various durations. The UV irradiated variant (UIV) showed superior growth in the absence and presence of Cu than the wild type strain. Higher biomass produced by the UIV was accompanied by greater quantities of IAA, SA, Phenols and flavonoids, enabling this strain to tolerate Cu more efficiently. Fungal capabilities to alleviate Cu stress in Abelmoschus esculentus. When okra seedlings were exposed to 750 ppm of Cu, root and shoot growth were reduced to 64% and 30.4% of the control. Both the wild type and UIV endophytes were beneficial for the growth of okra seedlings where growth remained higher than the control even in the presence of 750 ppm of Cu. The mutant strain effectively colonized roots of seedlings and absorption of copper from soil to root was also cut down to 50% of the wild SK12. The UIV colonized seedlings also kept ROS levels in normal range with the help of peroxidase enzyme and the non-enzymatic antioxidants i.e. Phenols and flavonoids. The UIV inoculated also accumulated up to higher levels of IAA and SA than control and wild strain. These Hormones increases ROS scavenging by increasing antioxidant activities and protect seedlings against Cu stress by reducing lipid peroxidation and the malondialdehyde levels. All these features enabled the endophyte (UIV) associated seedlings to grow normally even in the presence of 750ppm of Cu. We concluded that UIV strain had the ability to alleviate Cu stress in okra seedlings in multiple way; from reducing its uptake to improved ROS scavenging system through enhanced antioxidant activities and modulation of IAA and SA.

Page(s): 1727-1740

DOI: 10.30848/PJB2024-5(37)

Published: Journal: Pakistan Journal of Botany, Volume: 56, Issue: 5, Year: 2024

Keywords:

bioremediation , Phytohormones , heavy metal stress , endophytic fungi , UVinduced mutation , ROS scavenging

References:

References are not available for this document.

Citations

Citations are not available for this document.

Citations

Downloads

Views