Abstract
Trichoderma, a highly abundant soil fungus, may benefit plants, yet it remains understudied in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). In this study, sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22. Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 significantly increased growth parameters and nutrient levels, demonstrating its beneficial role in sorghum. A split-root assay demonstrated that T. afroharzianum T22 is essential in both compartments of the pot for promoting plant growth, suggesting that local signals from this fungus drive symbiotic benefits in sorghum. RNA-seq analysis revealed that inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced genes responsible for mineral transport (such as nitrate and aquaporin transporters), auxin response, sugar assimilation (hexokinase), and disease resistance (thaumatin) in sorghum roots. Microbial community analysis further unveiled the positive role of T. afroharzianum T22 in enriching Penicillium and Streptomyces while reducing disease-causing Fusarium in the roots. The microbial consortium, consisting of enriched microbiomes from bacterial and fungal communities, showed disrupted morphological features in plants inoculated with T. afroharzianum T22 in the absence of Streptomyces griseus. However, this disruption was not observed in the absence of Penicillium chrysogenum. These results indicate that S. griseus acts as a helper microbe in close association with T. afroharzianum T22 in the sorghum endosphere. This study provides the first comprehensive explanation of how T. afroharzianum T22 modulates host molecular determinants and endophytic helper microbes, thereby collectively promoting sorghum growth. These findings may facilitate the formulation of synthetic microbial inoculants dominated by T. afroharzianum T22 to enhance growth and stress resilience in sorghum and similar crops.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 significantly increased sorghum growth parameters and nutrient levels compared with uninoculated soil.
- Treatment
- Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22e1
- Interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume1symbiont
- Outcome
- growth parameters and nutrient levelse1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Comparator
- without inoculatione0
- Setting
- pots of soile0
SorghumOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e1“Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 significantly increased growth parameters and nutrient levels”
Claim · model-written summary
Split-root assay showed that T. afroharzianum T22 must be present in both compartments of the pot to promote sorghum growth.
- Interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume2symbiont
- Outcome
- plant growthe2
- Qualifier
- both compartments of the pote2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e2“T. afroharzianum T22 is essential in both compartments of the pot for promoting plant growth”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced sorghum root genes for nitrate and aquaporin transporters.
- Organ / stage
- rootse3
- Treatment
- inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22e3
- Interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume3symbiont
- Gene
- nitrate and aquaporin transporterse3
- Outcome
- genes responsible for mineral transporte3
- Direction
- inducede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“RNA-seq analysis revealed that inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced genes responsible for mineral transport (such as nitrate and aquaporin transporters), auxin response, sugar assimilation (hexokinase), and disease resistance (thaumatin) in sorghum roots”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced the sorghum root auxin response.
- Organ / stage
- rootse3
- Treatment
- inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22e3
- Interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume3symbiont
- Outcome
- auxin responsee3
- Direction
- inducede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“RNA-seq analysis revealed that inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced genes responsible for mineral transport (such as nitrate and aquaporin transporters), auxin response, sugar assimilation (hexokinase), and disease resistance (thaumatin) in sorghum roots”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced sorghum root sugar assimilation genes, hexokinase.
- Organ / stage
- rootse3
- Treatment
- inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22e3
- Interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume3symbiont
- Gene
- hexokinasee3
- Outcome
- sugar assimilatione3
- Direction
- inducede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“RNA-seq analysis revealed that inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced genes responsible for mineral transport (such as nitrate and aquaporin transporters), auxin response, sugar assimilation (hexokinase), and disease resistance (thaumatin) in sorghum roots”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced sorghum root disease resistance genes, thaumatin.
- Organ / stage
- rootse3
- Treatment
- inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22e3
- Interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume3symbiont
- Gene
- thaumatine3
- Outcome
- disease resistancee3
- Direction
- inducede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“RNA-seq analysis revealed that inoculation with T. afroharzianum T22 induced genes responsible for mineral transport (such as nitrate and aquaporin transporters), auxin response, sugar assimilation (hexokinase), and disease resistance (thaumatin) in sorghum roots”
Claim · model-written summary
T. afroharzianum T22 enriched Penicillium in sorghum roots.
- Organ / stage
- rootse4
- Treatment
- T. afroharzianum T22e4
- Interactor
- Penicillium
Penicilliume4symbiont - Outcome
- Penicilliume4
- Direction
- enrichinge4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e4“the positive role of T. afroharzianum T22 in enriching Penicillium and Streptomyces while reducing disease-causing Fusarium in the roots”
Claim · model-written summary
T. afroharzianum T22 enriched Streptomyces in sorghum roots.
- Organ / stage
- rootse4
- Treatment
- T. afroharzianum T22e4
- Interactor
- Streptomyces
Streptomycese4symbiont - Outcome
- Streptomycese4
- Direction
- enrichinge4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e4“the positive role of T. afroharzianum T22 in enriching Penicillium and Streptomyces while reducing disease-causing Fusarium in the roots”
Claim · model-written summary
T. afroharzianum T22 reduced disease-causing Fusarium in sorghum roots.
- Organ / stage
- rootse4
- Treatment
- T. afroharzianum T22e4
- Second interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume4biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- disease-causing Fusariume4
- Direction
- reducinge4
FusariumNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e4“the positive role of T. afroharzianum T22 in enriching Penicillium and Streptomyces while reducing disease-causing Fusarium in the roots”
Claim · model-written summary
Without Streptomyces griseus, the T. afroharzianum T22 consortium disrupted sorghum morphological features.
- Treatment
- in the absence of Streptomyces griseuse5
- Interactor
- Streptomyces griseus
Streptomyces griseuse5symbiont - Second interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume5symbiont
- Outcome
- morphological featurese5
- Direction
- disruptede5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e5“showed disrupted morphological features in plants inoculated with T. afroharzianum T22 in the absence of Streptomyces griseus”
Claim · model-written summary
Without Penicillium chrysogenum, the consortium did not disrupt sorghum morphological features.
- Treatment
- in the absence of Penicillium chrysogenume6
- Interactor
- Penicillium chrysogenum
Penicillium chrysogenume6symbiont - Outcome
- disruptione6
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“sorghum plants were grown for 5 weeks in pots of soil with or without inoculation of T. afroharzianum T22”
e6“this disruption was not observed in the absence of Penicillium chrysogenum”
Claim · model-written summary
Streptomyces griseus acts as a helper microbe with T. afroharzianum T22 in the sorghum endosphere.
- Interactor
- S. griseusStreptomyces griseuse7symbiont
- Second interactor
- T. afroharzianum T22Trichoderma afroharzianume7symbiont
- Outcome
- helper microbee7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“S. griseus acts as a helper microbe in close association with T. afroharzianum T22 in the sorghum endosphere”
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