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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2017, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (9): 3099-3110.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.201709.013

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Microbe-assisted drought resistance for tobacco plants: Mechanisms and applications.

HUANG Hua-gang1, LYU Li-xin2, ZHANG Yan-ming2, JIANG Zhuang2, SHEN Yan1, AN Qian-li2*   

  1. 1Bijie Tobacco Company of Guizhou Province, Bijie 551700, Guizhou, China;
    2Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
  • Received:2017-01-04 Online:2017-09-18 Published:2017-09-18
  • Contact: * E-mail: an@zju.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the Bijie Tobacco Company of Guizhou Province (BJYC-201309) and Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China (LY14C010002).

Abstract: Drought is one of the most destructive abiotic stresses to tobacco farming in China. Many microbes in symbiosis or association with plant roots are able to help plant to avoid and tolerate drought stress. Microbes absorb water via mycelia and transport water to plant hosts; microbes produce plant hormones or change plant endogenous hormones to promote root development and elongation or leaf stomatal closure, leading to drought avoidance via increase of water absorption and decrease of water loss. Microbes modulate plant signal transduction pathways mediated by different plant hormones to induce plant systemic tolerance to abiotic stresses via accumulation of osmoprotectants, antioxidants, and scavengers of reactive oxygen species. Microbes also help plant hosts to absorb nutrients and thus support plant metabolism and growth under drought stress. This paper reviewed the mechanisms of microbe-assisted plant resistance to drought stress based mainly on the studies on tobacco and tomato plants inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, the model endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica, and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. This paper also discussed the use of these beneficial microbes to promote tobacco resistance to drought stress for tobacco farming.