African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12497

Review

Interaction of Mycobiont: Piriformospora Indica with Medicinal plants and plants of Economic importance

U. S. Bagde1*, Ram Prasad2 and Ajit Varma2  
  1Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Santacruz (East), Mumbai 400098, India. 2Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Sector 125, Noida, 201301 Uttar Pradesh, India.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 10 December 2010
  •  Published: 29 December 2010

Abstract

 

Traditional medicines of plant origin are used by world’s large population. Economic development including eradication of poverty in developing countries like, India or other countries of the world required increase in agricultural productivity. Bio fertilizers plays a very important role in modern agriculture, in achieving higher productions in Agriculture at lower input costs using biotechnological innovations at large. An endophytic symbiotic fungus, Piriformospora indica isolated from desert soils of Rajasthan, India promotes growth as well as important ingredients of the medicinal as well as economically important plants by forming association with roots of various plants and it has been established as biofertilizer, bioprotector, immunoregulator and agent for biological hardening of tissue culture raised plants.Pindica tremendously improves the growth and overall biomass production of a diverse host including legumes, medicinal and economically important plants. Pronounced growth promotional effect was seen with terrestrial orchids. P. indicawas able to colonize the rhizoids of liverwort and the thalli failed to grow under in situ conditions in the absence of this fungus. The fungus also provided protection when inoculated into the tissue culture raised plants by overcoming the ‘transient transplant shock’ on transfer to the field and renders almost 100% survival on transplant. P. indica cell biomass which has potential for promoting growth of many plants (above 145) has been documented so far which include plants such asCentella asiaticaCoriandrum sativumArtimisia annuaSpilanthus calva,Arabidopsis thalinaCajanus cajanArachis hypogeaMimosa pudicaCicer arietinumAllium cepaHordeum vulgare, Zea maysSaccharum officinarum,Withania somniferaSolanum lysopersicum, etc. However, impact of P. indicaculture filtrate on plant growth promotion has been studied only in few plants. Important medicinal plants and plants of economic importance on which effect of culture filtrate of P. indica has been studied include plants such as Z. mays,Bacopa monnieraNicotiana tabaccumAzadiracta indica, Aristolochia elegans, Helianthus annus and Solanum melongenaP. indica, a root colonizing fungus which is cultivable axenically, uniquely possesses multifunctional properties such as plant promoter, plant protector, resistance against heavy metals, bio herbicide, immune-modulator, resistance against temperature, salt and stress tolerance as bio fertilizer and tool for basic research. There are prospects that ingredients present in culture filtrate, that are stimulated and produced in response to ingredients of culture filtrate in plants, will be identified in future completely thereby opening more avenues of applications of P. indica. Many more properties and functions of P. indica cells and culture filtrate are expected to be known in future.

 

Key words: Helianthus annusPiriformospora indica, seed oil content, culture filtrate, aristolochia, plant microbe interaction.

Abbreviation

 

Abbreviation: AM fungus, Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi; IAA, Indole-3-acetic acid.