Title : Extensive analysis of Trichoderma ressei mediated CO2 stress mitigating responses and transcriptome sequencing of rice flag leaf
Abstract:
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations (CO2) have been found to have significantly increased since pre-industrial times, approximately from 280 ppm to 414.5 ppm by 2020 .The study was conducted to investigate the alterations in physiological, biochemical, and transcriptional responses in the flag leaf of rice varieties named Heena (drought resistant) and Kiran (drought sensitive) following the application of Trichoderma as a biofertilizer (BF) at both ambient (aCO2-395ppm) and enhanced (eCO2-550ppm) carbon dioxide levels. A comparatively less percentage change was observed in the photosynthetic parameters, including photosynthetic rate, respiration, and stomatal conductance, subsequent to the introduction of BF in the elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) environment. Furthermore, biochemical analysis revealed a noteworthy elevation in the levels of photosynthetic pigments, total sugar, proline, and ascorbate peroxidase concentration in plants treated with BF under both ambient and increased carbon dioxide conditions. The buildup of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was also shown to be increased in rice types treated with BF in both conditions. Moreover, the use of ICP-MS analysis demonstrated an augmentation in the levels of vital micronutrients in the experimental group, while observing no alterations in the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio within the flag leaf. The examination of transcriptional responses in the flag leaf demonstrated an increase in the expression of genes associated with the photosynthetic system, amino acid metabolism, several transporters including aquaporin, and the phosphate pathway, as well as carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Hence, this work elucidates the effective role of Trichoderma in mitigating the adverse consequences associated with elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO2).
Keywords: Flag Leaf, Elevated CO2, Trichoderma ressei, Transcriptional response
