Lead tolerant endophyte Trametes hirsuta improved the growth and lead accumulation in the vegetative parts of Triticum aestivum L.

Rapid industrialization and increasing population are continuously adding contaminants to our environment. Among those, heavy metals are considered to be one of the serious threats to the ecosystem due to their persistent nature. Microbe assisted phytoremediation is an effective tool for metal remediation as microbes enhance the metal availability and uptake to the host plants or reduce it by binding them intracellularly or extracellularly. An endophytic fungus, Trametes hirsuta, was isolated from Chenopodium album L. plant growing in the lead (Pb) contaminated soil of an industrial area. This is the first study citing Trametes hirsuta, as a root endophyte of Chenopodium album L. This endophytic fungus was found to be tolerant to high concentration of Pb i.e., 1500 mg L(−1), when tested in-vitro. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings were infected by Trametes hirsuta and Pb tolerance was observed. With the fungal inoculation plants cumulative growth and total chlorophyll content increased by 24% and 18%, respectively as compared to their respective non-inoculated controls at 1000 mg kg(−1) Pb. Similary, 50% more Pb accumulation was measured in the shoots of fungal inoculated plants at 1500 mg kg(−1) Pb as compared to control. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that mutualism with endophytic fungi can improve the survival of host plants in metal contaminated soils, additionally it can also assist the phytoextraction of heavy metals from polluted sites by increasing their uptake by the host plants.