title: Enhancing growth performance and systemic acquired resistance of medicinal plant Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under salt stress.
abstract: Pot experiments were conducted to evaluate the damaging effects of salinity on Sesbania sesban plants in the presence and absence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The selected morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters of S. sesban were measured. Salinity reduced growth and chlorophyll content drastically while as AMF inoculated plants improved growth. A decrease in the number of nodules, nodule weight and nitrogenase activity was also evident due to salinity stress causing reduction in nitrogen fixation and assimilation potential. AMF inoculation increased these parameters and also ameliorated the salinity stress to some extent. Antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) as well as non enzymatic antioxidants (ascorbic acid and glutathione) also exhibited great variation with salinity treatment. Salinity caused great alterations in the endogenous levels of growth hormones with abscisic acid showing increment. AMF inoculated plants maintained higher levels of growth hormones and also allayed the negative impact of salinity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Elsayed Fathi
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Abd Allah
authors.affiliation: Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abeer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hashem
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz Abdullah
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alqarawi
authors.affiliation: Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ali Hassan
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Bahkali
authors.affiliation: Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mona S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Alwhibi
keywords: AMF; Nodulation; Salinity; Sesbania sesban; Systemic acquired resistance