Effect of a fungus, Hypoxylon spp., on endophytes in the roots of Asparagus

Abstract

ABSTRACT The fungal isolate Hypoxylon spp. (Sj18) was isolated from the root of pecan. It might have effects on the plant's stress tolerance and endophytic community. Inoculation experiments were carried out on the roots of Asparagus with normal and inactivated Sj18, and the diversity and community structure of endophytes in the root of inoculated Asparagus were studied. It was found that Sj18 fungi affected the endophytic community of Asparagus roots. From being a low-abundance genus, the salt-tolerant bacterium Halomonas became the dominant genus. In order to verify that Sj18 can improve salt tolerance, Arabidopsis thaliana was inoculated with Sj18 in a salt tolerance test. The result showed that A. thaliana grew better in a high salt environment after inoculation with Sj18. Sj18 changed the microbe diversity, community composition and structure of endophytes in the roots of Asparagus, which increased the bacterial diversity. A total of 16 phyla and 184 genera of bacteria were detected. However, the diversity of fungi decreased.