Piriformospora indica improves micropropagation, growth and phytochemical content of Aloe vera L. plants

The study was undertaken to investigate the effect of symbiotic fungus Piriformospora indica on the phytochemical content of medicinal plant Aloe vera L. The in vitro culture of A. vera was initiated with rhizomatous stem, where MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l BAP and 0.5 mg/l NAA was found to be the best for multiple shoot proliferation. Interaction of A. vera with P. indica resulted in an overall increase in plant biomass and chlorophyll content. Improved growth was observed in terms of higher shoot and root length, number of shoots and roots in P. indica colonised A. vera plantlets, both under in vitro and ex vitro environment. The simple acclimatization procedure ensured 100 % survival rate for the colonised A. vera plantlets. Root colonization by P. indica increased the gel content in A. vera by 16.5 %. The symbiotic interaction resulted in an increase in phenol content and radical scavenging capacity. The colonised plantlets also had higher aloin content, which is used as a laxative and is a potential anticancer agent. The study demonstrated the potential of P. indica as a biopriming agent for achieving better growth, survival of in vitro raised plantlets and enhancement in secondary metabolite content.