Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is an annual autogamous diploid plant belonging to Asteraceae and is among the top ten most profitable crops worldwide due to its nutritional value. Nevertheless, lettuce is an intensive crop with high input demand, especially fertilisers, both in soil-bound and soilless culture, with negative impact on the environment and production costs. In this context, arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses could help to reduce the impact of fertilisers, improving plant nutrition, particularly regarding phosphorus, and contributing to growing healthier plants for human consumption. In our work, we compared lettuce plants (cv. Salinas) grown in soilless culture with optimal phosphorus concentration in the nutrient solution, with sub-optimal phosphorus nutrition and with plants grown with sub-optimal phosphorus concentration and inoculated with the fungus Funneliformis mosseae before transplanting. Higher levels of primary and secondary metabolites along with increased biomass were observed for mycorrhizal plants compared to lettuces grown with optimal and sub-optimal concentrations of phosphate. Gene expression profile was analysed in both roots and leaves, and transcriptomic values were associated with growth and biochemical parameters. Three-thousand and fifty-seven genes were differentially regulated by mycorrhizal symbiosis and 2,606 genes by optimal phosphate nutrition. Different genes related to photosynthesis, solute transport, metabolism of phytohormones, redox homeostasis, and transcriptional regulation resulted differentially regulated between culture conditions. Mycorrhizal plants also boosted the activation of genes involved in phenylpropanoids and carotenoids metabolism. In conclusion, growth, biochemical, and transcriptomic data show that symbiotic plants benefit both plant growth and leaf content of health promoting phytochemicals through genetic pathways that largely differed those activated in plants grown with optimal phosphorus supply.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis allows to overcome phosphorus deficiency in soilless culture of Lactuca sativa: A phenotypic and transcriptomic analysis
VANGELISTI A.
;Cela F.;Simoni S.;Avio L.;Turrini A.;Incrocci L.;Pardossi A.;Rogo U.;NATALI L.;CAVALLINI A.;GIORDANI T.Ultimo
2024-01-01
Abstract
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is an annual autogamous diploid plant belonging to Asteraceae and is among the top ten most profitable crops worldwide due to its nutritional value. Nevertheless, lettuce is an intensive crop with high input demand, especially fertilisers, both in soil-bound and soilless culture, with negative impact on the environment and production costs. In this context, arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses could help to reduce the impact of fertilisers, improving plant nutrition, particularly regarding phosphorus, and contributing to growing healthier plants for human consumption. In our work, we compared lettuce plants (cv. Salinas) grown in soilless culture with optimal phosphorus concentration in the nutrient solution, with sub-optimal phosphorus nutrition and with plants grown with sub-optimal phosphorus concentration and inoculated with the fungus Funneliformis mosseae before transplanting. Higher levels of primary and secondary metabolites along with increased biomass were observed for mycorrhizal plants compared to lettuces grown with optimal and sub-optimal concentrations of phosphate. Gene expression profile was analysed in both roots and leaves, and transcriptomic values were associated with growth and biochemical parameters. Three-thousand and fifty-seven genes were differentially regulated by mycorrhizal symbiosis and 2,606 genes by optimal phosphate nutrition. Different genes related to photosynthesis, solute transport, metabolism of phytohormones, redox homeostasis, and transcriptional regulation resulted differentially regulated between culture conditions. Mycorrhizal plants also boosted the activation of genes involved in phenylpropanoids and carotenoids metabolism. In conclusion, growth, biochemical, and transcriptomic data show that symbiotic plants benefit both plant growth and leaf content of health promoting phytochemicals through genetic pathways that largely differed those activated in plants grown with optimal phosphorus supply.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
