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<p>Endophytic fungi play a pivotal role in modulating plant secondary metabolism and enhancing stress resilience, yet their influence on genetically transformed hairy roots remains insufficiently explored. This study examined the biochemical and physiological responses of <i>Withania somnifera</i> hairy roots induced by two <i>Agrobacterium rhizogenes</i> strains (A4 and ATCC-15834) under the elicitation of three endophytic fungi — <i>Ascochyta rabiei</i>, <i>Chaetomium sp.</i>, and <i>Aspergillus lentulus</i> — applied at different concentrations and exposure periods. The results demonstrated that fungal elicitation significantly enhanced biomass accumulation, total protein, phenolic, and flavonoid contents, as well as antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APX, and GPX), in a strain-dependent manner. Among the tested fungi, <i>Chaetomium sp.</i> exhibited the most pronounced synergistic effects, resulting in the highest fresh and dry weights, as well as elevated levels of antioxidant enzymes. Correlation analyses revealed strong positive associations between biomass production and antioxidant capacity, highlighting the integrated metabolic regulation in transformed roots. The findings highlight the potential of endophytic fungi as efficient biological elicitors for enhancing phytochemical yields in hairy root systems, offering an eco-friendly platform for the large-scale production of bioactive metabolites from <i>W. somnifera</i>.</p>

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The effect of endophytic fungi on the phytochemical characteristics of hairy roots of Withania somnifera

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月28日

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  • Nasibeh Soltaninejad,
  • Seyed Ahmad Sadat-Noori,
  • Ali Izadi-Darbandi,
  • Fatemeh Amini,
  • Mohammad Hossein Mirjalili

摘要

Endophytic fungi play a pivotal role in modulating plant secondary metabolism and enhancing stress resilience, yet their influence on genetically transformed hairy roots remains insufficiently explored. This study examined the biochemical and physiological responses of Withania somnifera hairy roots induced by two Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains (A4 and ATCC-15834) under the elicitation of three endophytic fungi — Ascochyta rabiei, Chaetomium sp., and Aspergillus lentulus — applied at different concentrations and exposure periods. The results demonstrated that fungal elicitation significantly enhanced biomass accumulation, total protein, phenolic, and flavonoid contents, as well as antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APX, and GPX), in a strain-dependent manner. Among the tested fungi, Chaetomium sp. exhibited the most pronounced synergistic effects, resulting in the highest fresh and dry weights, as well as elevated levels of antioxidant enzymes. Correlation analyses revealed strong positive associations between biomass production and antioxidant capacity, highlighting the integrated metabolic regulation in transformed roots. The findings highlight the potential of endophytic fungi as efficient biological elicitors for enhancing phytochemical yields in hairy root systems, offering an eco-friendly platform for the large-scale production of bioactive metabolites from W. somnifera.