Colonizes the Roots of L., Alters the Expression of Stress-Responsive Genes, and Increases the Yield of Canola under Field Conditions during Drought.

In this work, we present the results of the inoculation of canola seeds ( L.) with strains that promote the growth of plants. Seven morphologically different strains of (TvI-VII) were shown to be capable of synthesizing auxins and exhibited cellulolytic and pectinolytic activities. To gain a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying canola- interactions, we analyzed the canola stress genes metallothioneins () and stringent response genes ( and ). We demonstrated the presence of -regulatory elements responsive to fungal elicitors in the promoter regions of and genes and observed changes in the levels of the transcripts of the above-mentioned genes in response to root colonization by the tested fungal strains. Of the seven tested strains, under laboratory conditions, VII stimulated the formation of roots and the growth of canola seedlings to the greatest extent. An experiment conducted under field conditions during drought showed that the inoculation of canola seeds with a suspension of VII spores increased yield by 16.7%. There was also a positive effect of the fungus on the height and branching of the plants, the number of siliques, and the mass of a thousand seeds. We suggest that the strain TvVII can be used in modern sustainable agriculture as a bioinoculant and seed coating to protect from drought.