• The root endophytic basidiomycete Piriformospora indica has been shown to increase resistance against biotic stress and tolerance to abiotic stress in many plants. • Biochemical mechanisms underlying P. indica-mediated salt tolerance were studied in barley (Hordeum vulgare) with special focus on antioxidants. Physiological markers for salt stress, such as metabolic activity, fatty acid composition, lipid peroxidation, ascorbate concentration and activities of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase, monodehydroascorbate reductase and glutathione reductase enzymes were assessed. • Root colonization by P. indica increased plant growth and attenuated the NaCl-induced lipid peroxidation, metabolic heat efflux and fatty acid desaturation in leaves of the salt-sensitive barley cultivar Ingrid. The endophyte significantly elevated the amount of ascorbic acid and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes in barley roots under salt stress conditions. Likewise, a sustained up-regulation of the antioxidative system was demonstrated in NaCl-treated roots of the salt-tolerant barley cultivar California Mariout, irrespective of plant colonization by P. indica. • These findings suggest that antioxidants might play a role in both inherited and endophyte-mediated plant tolerance to salinity.

Fusarium culmorum causes root rot in barley (Hordeum vulgare), resulting in severely reduced plant growth and yield. Pretreatment of roots with chlamydospores of the mutualistic root-colonizing basidiomycete Piriformospora indica (subdivision Agaricomycotina) prevented necrotization of root tissues and plant growth retardation commonly associated with Fusarium root rot. Quantification of Fusarium infections with a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay revealed a correlation between root rot symptoms and the relative amount of fungal DNA. Fusarium-infected roots showed reduced levels of ascorbate and glutathione (GSH), along with reduced activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, GSH reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and monodehydroascorbate reductase. Consistent with this, Fusarium-infected roots showed elevated levels of lipid hydroperoxides and decreased ratios of reduced to oxidized forms of ascorbate and GSH. In clear contrast, roots treated with P. indica prior to inoculation with F. culmorum showed levels of ascorbate and GSH that were similar to controls. Likewise, lipid peroxidation and the overall reduction in antioxidant enzyme activities were largely attenuated by P. indica in roots challenged by F. culmorum. These results suggest that P. indica protects roots from necrotrophic pathogens, at least partly, through activating the plant's antioxidant capacity.

This is the first demonstration that tobacco mosaic virus-induced oxidative stress in a necrotic host plant is signalled by an elevated level of monodehydroascorbate (MDA) radicals detected by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Furthermore, systemic acquired resistance induced in remote leaves of Xanthi-nc tobacco is also associated with stimulated MDA signals indicative of a microoxidative burst.

Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum) is a small perennial flowering plant with fragrant, showy flowers on long stems rising above the foliage. Between 2018 and 2022, about 6% of C. persicum plants belongin...