Endosymbiotic Relationship Analysis Between Piriformospora Indica and Cotton or Tomato.

Endosymbiotic Relationship Analysis between Piriformospora Indica and Cotton or Tomato Na-Asia Ellis, Sarah Beth Cseke, Elica Moss, Govind C. Sharma and Ramesh Kantety Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL 35762 Piriformospora indica, the root endosymboiant fungus has shown to have mutually beneficial effects growth enhancement in poplar, maize, parsley, and other plants. It also conditions plants to withstand higher thresholds of drought stress. Further analysis is necessary to confirm its effect on other plant species and possibly enhance biomass yields and parasite defense. To analyze the behavior of the fungus and to examine its relationship with specific cotton and tomato plants, the fungus was introduced to Deltapine 90 cotton and Microtom tomato. Early analysis suggests that germination of cotton seeds in presence of fungus is less probable on agar containing MS media. Additional data will be presented from limited success attained preliminarily in symbiosis in in-vitro and ex-vitro soil media conditions.