Dominant foliar endophytes elicit growth in soybean under stressed conditions

Griesbaum, Karla C.

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

Description

Title

Dominant foliar endophytes elicit growth in soybean under stressed conditions

Author(s)

Griesbaum, Karla C.

Issue Date

2022-11-22

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Heath, Katy D

Committee Member(s)

• Ainsworth, Elizabeth A
• Yannarell, Anthony

Department of Study

Plant Biology

Discipline

Plant Biology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Soybean
• foliar endophytes
• climate change

Abstract

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.

Graduation Semester

2022-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

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

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Karla Griesbaum

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