From acidic extreme environments to agriculture: a multi-stress-tolerant Talaromyces pseudofuniculosus enhances soybean growth under abiotic stress
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: ABSTRACT Extremophilic fungi are a relatively unexplored source of stress-resilient microbes for sustainable agriculture. Here, we describe Talaromyces pseudofuniculosus FAR, isolated from the highly acidic site of “Piccolo Inferno” in southern Italy and identified by ITS and β-tubulin (BenA) sequencing. Despite its origin from an extreme environment, T. pseudofuniculosus FRA remained fully functional under non-stress conditions and displayed tolerance to salinity and heavy metals while maintaining key plant growth-promoting traits, including phosphate solubilization, auxin-related compound production and hydrolytic activities. In soybean (Glycine max L.), the live fungus promoted plant growth under both non-stress conditions and agriculturally relevant salinity and copper stress, and successfully colonized the roots. A cell-free extracellular extract (exCFS) promoted early seedling development in vitro, but its effects were not sustained in pot experiments. GC–MS analysis provided a qualitative characterization of the extracellular metabolite profile and revealed condition-dependent differences between control, NaCl and CuSO₄ growth conditions, indicating environment-dependent modulation of fungal metabolism. Overall, these findings highlight the physiological and metabolic plasticity of T. pseudofuniculosus FRA and support its potential as a fungal biostimulant for saline- and metal-impacted agricultural soils.
Institution: University of Naples Federico II
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7220654708