Background: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form symbiotic associations with roots in most land plants. AM symbiosis provides benefits to host plants by improving nutrition and fitness. AM symbiosis has also been associated with increased resistance to pathogen infection in several plant species. In rice, the effects of AM symbiosis is less studied, probably because rice is mostly cultivated in wetland areas, and plants in such ecosystems have traditionally been considered as non-mycorrhizal. In this study, we investigated the effect of AM inoculation on performance of elite rice cultivars (Oryza sativa, japonica subspecies) under greenhouse and field conditions, focusing on growth, resistance to the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and productivity. Results: The response to inoculation with either Funneliformis mosseae or Rhizophagus irregularis was evaluated in a panel of 12 rice cultivars. Root colonization was confirmed in all rice varieties. Under controlled greenhouse conditions, R. irregularis showed higher levels of root colonization than F. mosseae. Compared to non-inoculated plants, the AM-inoculated plants had higher Pi content in leaves. Varietal differences were observed in the growth response of rice cultivars to inoculation with an AM fungus, which were also dependent on the identity of the fungus. Thus, positive, negligible, and negative responses to AM inoculation were observed among rice varieties. Inoculation with F. mosseae or R. irregularis also conferred protection to the rice blast fungus, but the level of mycorrhiza-induced blast resistance varied among host genotypes. Rice seedlings (Loto and Gines varieties) were pre-inoculated with R. irregularis, transplanted into flooded fields, and grown until maturity. A significant increase in grain yield was observed in mycorrhizal plants compared with non-mycorrhizal plants, which was related to an increase in the number of panicles. Conclusion: Results here presented support that rice plants benefit from the AM symbiosis while illustrating the potential of using AM fungi to improve productivity and blast resistance in cultivated rice. Differences observed in the mycorrhizal responsiveness among the different rice cultivars in terms of growth promotion and blast resistance indicate that evaluation of benefits received by the AM symbiosis needs to be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis for efficient exploitation of AM fungi in rice cultivation.

The grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is a major fruit crop of economic importance worldwide. Commercial grapevine cultivars are susceptible to infection by pathogenic microorganisms that cause diseases both in leaves and fruits, and it is known that the leaf microbiome plays an important role in plant health and fitness. In this study, shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to characterize the microbial communities associated with grapevine leaves in three commercial varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, and Marselan, grown in the same biogeographical unit. Metagenomic data revealed a differential enrichment of the microbial communities living inside grapevine leaves or on the leaf surface in the three varieties. The most abundant fungal taxa associated with grapevine leaves belong to the phylum Ascomycota, which included relevant pathogenic fungi for grapevines, such as Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotium, and Alternaria alternata, as well as several fungal species potentially pathogenic for grapevines (e.g., members of the Colletotrichum, Aspergillus, and Penicillium genera). Basidiomycota constituted a minor fraction of the fungal microbial communities. Grapevine leaves also harbored a diversity of bacterial taxa. At the phylum level, bacterial communities in all three varieties were primarily composed of Pseudomonadata, Bacillota, Bacteroidota, and a lower proportion of Actinomycetota. Differences in the fungal and bacterial community structures were observed between varieties, although they were more important in fungi. In particular, S. sclerotiorum and B. cinerea were found to preferentially colonize leaves in the Marselan and Garnacha varieties, respectively. These findings further support that the host genotype can shape its own microbiome in grapevines. A better understanding of the leaf microbiome in grapevines will provide the basis for the development of tailored strategies to prevent diseases in vineyards while helping to increase sustainability in grapevine production.