Functional roles of microbial symbionts in plant cold tolerance

Acuña-Rodríguez, Ian S.; Newsham, Kevin K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9108-0936; Gundel, Pedro E.; Torres-Díaz, Cristian; Molina-Montenegro, Marco A.. 2020 Functional roles of microbial symbionts in plant cold tolerance. Ecology Letters, 23 (6). 1034-1048. 10.1111/ele.13502

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Official URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/e...

Abstract/Summary

In this review, we examine the functional roles of microbial symbionts in plant tolerance to cold and freezing stresses. The impacts of symbionts on antioxidant activity, hormonal signaling and host osmotic balance are described, including the effects of the bacterial endosymbionts Burkholderia, Pseudomonas and Azospirillum on photosynthesis and the accumulation of carbohydrates such as trehalose and raffinose that improve cell osmotic regulation and plasma membrane integrity. The influence of root fungal endophytes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant physiology at low temperatures, for example their effects on nutrient acquisition and the accumulation of indole‐3‐acetic acid and antioxidants in tissues, are also reviewed. Meta‐analyses are presented showing that aspects of plant performance (shoot biomass, relative water content, sugar and proline concentrations and Fv/Fm) are enhanced in symbiotic plants at low (−1 to 15 °C), but not at high (20–26 °C), temperatures. We discuss the implications of microbial symbionts for plant performance at low and sub‐zero temperatures in the natural environment and propose future directions for research into the effects of symbionts on the cold and freezing tolerances of plants, concluding that further studies should routinely incorporate symbiotic microbes in their experimental designs.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1111/ele.13502
ISSN:	1461023X
Additional Keywords:	Arbuscular mycorrhizas, bacteria, cold stress, endophytes, freezing, fungi, symbiosis
Date made live:	17 Apr 2020 09:37 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527501

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1111/ele.13502

ISSN:

1461023X

Additional Keywords:

Arbuscular mycorrhizas, bacteria, cold stress, endophytes, freezing, fungi, symbiosis

Date made live:

17 Apr 2020 09:37 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527501