Dominant foliar endophytes elicit growth in soybean under stressed conditions

Accurate predictions of how plants respond to our rapidly changing climate will need to consider how their symbiotic interactions with microorganisms change with the environment. Microorganisms associated with plants can affect nutrient and water acquisition, plant defenses, and ecological interactions. In Glycine max (soybean), there are many studies that have examined the soil microbiome and the legume-rhizobium relationship, but little is known about foliar endophytes and their interactions with the plant. My purpose was to determine the phenotypic effects of dominant foliar endophytes under three conditions: a greenhouse study representing stressed, nutrient-poor conditions, a field study at the SoyFACE facility at ambient (416ppm) and elevated (600ppm) [CO2] levels (Ainsworth 2020), and a greenhouse study using field soil. In the greenhouse, at ambient [CO2] with sterile soil, endophyte treatments increased soybean growth compared to the control. However, there were no significant differences in soybean fitness with endophyte treatment in either ambient or elevated [CO2] in the field, or in the greenhouse with field soil. These results suggest that these foliar endophytes might only affect plant phenotypes under controlled conditions when plants are nutrient deprived or stressed. Nitrogen fixation and other nutrient assimilation by mutualistic root endophytes may well outweigh the effect of foliar endophytes, and the foliar endophytes explored in this experiment may be mostly commensal under natural conditions.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Plant Biology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Griesbaum, Karla C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Heath, Katy D
• Ainsworth, Elizabeth A
• Yannarell, Anthony

• Soybean
• Foliar Endophytes
• Climate Change

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Karla Griesbaum

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117772

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F117772