Journal of Plant Process and Function

Endophytic fungi as the most important soil microorganisms through establishing a symbiotic relationship with various plants play an important role in improving growth and mineral nutrition of their host plants. This research investigates the effect of Piriformospora indica and mycorrhizal fungi treatments on phosphorus efficiency indices and increasing phosphorus deficiency tolerance stress in wheat plant (Triticum aestivum L). For this purpose, a factorial greenhouse experiment in a completely randomized design with two fungal treatments including P. indica (inoculated & non-inoculated) and mycorrhizal fungi (non-inoculated, Glomus intraradices, Glomus mossea and G. intraradices + G. mossea) in three replications was conducted under phosphorus-deficient conditions. After 60 days of planting and measuring some parameters like root and shoot dry weight, shoot P content and the activity of guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) in shoot, phosphorus efficiency indices were calculated. The results showed that the impact of studied microorganisms on the mentioned indices was significant at the 0.05 level, so that co-inoculation treatment of G. intraradices and P. indica in increasing growth parameters, P uptake efficiency, roots and shoots phosphorus-efficiency and stress tolerance index (STI) was reported as the most efficient microbial treatment. Individual treatment of P. indica due to higher potential in transferring P from root to shoot, had a more effective role in increasing shoot phosphorus concentration compared with other treatments. The results of this research shows that under P-deficiency conditions, the studied fungi resulted in increasing wheat tolerance to P- deficiency by increasing P-uptake, improving growth of roots and shoots and increasing GPX activity. It is worth mentioning that the effect of the studied fungi on wheat cultivars and their antioxidant responses to P deficiency stress may not be the same.