Potential Regulatory Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal\nFungi on Lipid Metabolism of Maize in Response to Low-Temperature\nStress

The specific mechanisms underlying\nmembrane lipid remodeling and\nchanges in gene expression induced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi\n(AMF) in low-temperature-stressed plants are still unclear. In this\nstudy, physiological, transcriptomic, and lipidomic analyses were\nused to elucidate the physiological mechanisms by which AMF can enhance\nthe adaptation of maize plants to low-temperature stress. The results\nshowed that the relative electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde\ncontent of maize leaves were decreased after the inoculation with\nAMF, indicating that AMF reduced the peroxidation of membrane lipids\nand maintained the fluidity of the cell membrane. Transcriptomic analysis\nshowed the presence of 702 differentially expressed genes induced\nby AMF in maize plants exposed to low-temperature stress. Furthermore,\nlipidomic analysis revealed changes in 10 lipid classes in AMF-inoculated\nmaize plants compared with their noninoculated counterparts under\nlow-temperature stress conditions. Lipid remodeling is an important\nstrategy that arbuscular mycorrhizal plants adopt to cope with low-temperature\nstress.