Proteomic analysis revealed modulations of carbon and nitrogen by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with the halophyte Suaeda salsa in a moderately saline environment

Abstract Halophytes can grow well in moderately salty habitats that restrain most plant growth. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can assist its host plants to effectively mitigate salinity stress. However, less information is available on the molecular mechanisms of AMF related to halophytes in adapting to moderate saline environments. A pot experiment was undertaken to detect the effects of AMF on the carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in the halophyte Suaeda salsa which was grown at 100 mM NaCl and the underlying proteomic modulating mechanisms. The results proved that AMF decreased the N and P concentrations, increased the C, N and P accumulations and the C:N and C:P ratios. Proteomic analysis screened 581 differentially abundant proteins (DAP), which were mostly categorized in carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism and folding, sorting and degradation pathways. The enrichment analysis illuminated that the DAPs were assembled in 'carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms,' 'nitrogen metabolism' and 'N‐glycan biosynthesis' pathways, which might be associated with the stoichiometric changes. The integrative proteomic and transcriptomic analysis detected 64 DAP whose regulations were concordant with those of the corresponding differentially expressed genes. Furthermore, these proteins were enriched in 'carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms' and some amino acid metabolism pathways. The modulations of these pathways might be correlated with C and N allocations and plant growth in moderate saline conditions. The study supplements the comprehension of the roles of AMF in halophytes grown in saline ecosystems.