Table 1_Leucocalocybe mongolica inoculation enhances rice growth by reallocating resources from flavonoid defense to development via MYB/bHLH/WRKY networks.xlsx

The relationship between plants and beneficial fungi offers a sustainable approach to enhance crop productivity and stress resilience. This study investigated the effects of Leucocalocybe mongolica strain LY9 on rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth, flavonoid metabolism, and transcriptional regulation. Rice plants treated with varying concentrations of LY9-transformed soil (10%, 30%, and 50%) exhibited significant improvements in phenotypic traits, including increased tiller numbers, shoot length (989 mm), and root length (518 mm), alongside elevated chlorophyll content, indicating enhanced photosynthetic efficiency. However, total flavonoid content decreased at the highest LY9 concentration, suggesting a metabolic trade-off between growth promotion and secondary metabolite production. Transcriptomic analysis revealed dose-dependent modulation of MYB, bHLH, and WRKY transcription factor genes such as Os04g0605100-WRKY68 and Os05g0553400-R2R3MYB84, while metabolomic profiling identified selective upregulation of stress-responsive flavonoids, such as chalcones (e.g., 2’,4’-dihydroxy-2,3’,6’-trimethoxychalcone and naringenin chalcone) and isoflavones (e.g., prunetin), while flavones were predominantly suppressed. Pearson correlation analyses underscored negative associations between flavonoid levels and growth traits, highlighting LY9’s role in reallocating resources from defense to growth. These findings demonstrate that LY9 enhances rice productivity by modulating flavonoid metabolism and transcriptional networks, offering insights into sustainable agricultural practices for stress resilience. Additionally, the study underscores the potential of LY9 as a biofertilizer to optimize rice growth while maintaining stress resilience through targeted metabolic adjustments.

植物与有益真菌的共生关系，可为提升作物生产力与抗逆性提供可持续路径。本研究针对蒙古白囊蘑（Leucocalocybe mongolica）菌株LY9对水稻（Oryza sativa L.）生长、类黄酮（flavonoid）代谢及转录调控的影响展开了探究。经不同浓度LY9处理的土壤（10%、30%与50%）培育的水稻植株，多项表型性状均得到显著改善：分蘖数增加、地上部长度达989 mm、根长达518 mm，同时叶绿素含量升高，提示光合效率得到提升。但在最高LY9浓度处理组中，总类黄酮含量出现下降，表明生长促进与次生代谢产物合成之间存在代谢权衡。转录组学分析（transcriptomic analysis）显示，MYB、bHLH与WRKY转录因子基因呈现剂量依赖性调控，例如Os04g0605100-WRKY68与Os05g0553400-R2R3MYB84；代谢组学分析（metabolomic analysis）则鉴定出胁迫响应类黄酮呈现选择性上调，包括查尔酮类（如2’,4’-二羟基-2,3’,6’-三甲氧基查尔酮与柚皮苷查尔酮）以及异黄酮类（如樱黄素），而黄酮类则整体受到抑制。皮尔逊（Pearson）相关性分析显示，类黄酮水平与生长性状之间呈负相关关系，凸显了LY9介导资源从防御途径向生长途径重新分配的作用。本研究结果证实，LY9可通过调控类黄酮代谢与转录网络提升水稻生产力，为抗逆可持续农业实践提供了理论参考。此外，本研究凸显了LY9作为生物肥料（biofertilizer）的潜力，其可通过靶向代谢调控优化水稻生长并维持抗逆性。