Effect of endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica on Pb partitioning in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) under Pb toxicity in soil

Root endophytic fungi play a crucial role in improving plant performance and participate in fungus-assisted phytoremediation in their hosts. The present experiment investigated the influence of root endophyte fungus Piriformospora indica on Pb accumulation of root and shoot in Carthamus tinctorius L. (safflower) cv. Sina in soil contaminated with four levels Pb (0, 400, 800 and 1200 mg Pb/kg soil) using Pb (NO3)2 solution under greenhouse conditions. By increasing Pb concentration in the soil, Pb accumulation in root and shoot were significantly enhanced. A significant increase in Pb accumulation in root and a significant reduction on shoot Pb amount was observed under fungal symbiosis. Also, P. indica-inoculated plants had lower translocation factor (TF) and bioaccumulation factor of Pb in the shoot (BFS), whereas higher bioaccumulation factor of Pb in the root(BFR), in comparison to non-inoculated ones. The results from our study illustrated that P. indica can be used as an important contributing factor for the Pb immobilization of host roots in phytoremediation process

کلیدواژه ها:

Endophytic fungus ، Heavy metal stress ، Safflower ، Lead accumulation