Evaluation of phytochemical responses and paclitaxel content of yew (Taxus baccata) seedlings subjected to the systemic fungicides

Abstract

Endophytic fungi pass all or at least a part of their life cycle inside or between host cells in living plant tissues. These fungi are not capable of causing disease in the host plants, however, they are deemed to be associated with the production of some secondary metabolites in plants. Therefore, this study was laid out to shed light on how fungicides are involved in the formation of key metabolites of yew (Taxus baccata L.), especially taxol. Through the symbiotic fungal endophyte activities and population changes an experiment was conducted as a completely randomized block design using two foliar application treatments of Rovral-TS and Fosetyl aluminium fungicides. Plants sprayed with distilled water were used as a control. The findings revealed that the diversity of endophytic fungi declined with the application of systemic fungicides, leading to a decrease in the production of certain secondary metabolites. Specifically, the levels of paclitaxel decreased by 35%, while the photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b and total chlorophyll decreased by 26%, 20.6% and 19.6%, respectively. Additionally, the levels of carotenoids, total phenol and total flavonoids decreased by 18%, 15% and 21.8%, respectively. The highest amount of these compounds was observed in the control treatment. An increase in antioxidant activity, soluble sugars and proline content was observed soon after fungicides application. The variation in the content of soluble sugars, proline and antioxidant activity was fungicide-dependent. Compared to Fosetyl aluminium fungicide, the numerical value of the above parameters in plants treated with Rovral-TS was 14.4%, 11.7% and 25.4% higher, respectively. The fungicide-mediated induction of Taxol production—key secondary metabolites in yew—was to a great extent associated with the change in endophytic fungi. This further establishes the role of fungal endophytes in the stimulation of secondary metabolite formation in yew plants.