Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi elevate maize plant tolerance to Antimony, enhancing the nutritive value of seeds

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi elevate maize plant tolerance to Antimony, enhancing the nutritive value of seeds | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi elevate maize plant tolerance to Antimony, enhancing the nutritive value of seeds Ahlem Zrig, Ahmed Jerbi, Michel Labrecque, Foued Hammouda, Mohamed S. Sheteiwy, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4258255/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The rise in industrial activity has resulted in an escalating threat antimony (Sb) buildups and biomagnifications in both plants and humans. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been thoroughly investigated as a soil enhancement due to their ability to decrease the accumulation of many heavy metals in plant tissues. However, a quantitative and data-based consensus has yet to be reached on the effect of AMF application on maize plants, focusing on plant growth, nutrient content, and antioxidant properties in maize grains subjected to antimony treatment. A notable decrease in AMF-related parameters, including colonization, hyphal length, and arbuscules, was noted when AMF was combined with Sb compared to AMF alone. The AMF treatment alone enhanced plant growth, as indicated by the increased fresh and dry biomass, while Sb treatment alone reduced substantially the total fresh (66%) and dray weight (65%). However, combining AMF with Sb resulted in significant variations in macro- and micronutrients in maize grains. Notably, the combined AMF and Sb treatment influenced the nutritional value of maize grains, showing increased levels of organic acids, amino acids, and fatty acids compared to control. Furthermore, antioxidant activity of maize grains was enhanced by AMF inoculation, as indicated by high levels of polyphenols (39%), flavonoids (63%), ascorbic acid (ASC) (71%), and glutathione (GSH) (28%) content as response to Sb application. Also, a 33% rise in total tocopherol was noted, reflecting comparable upward trends. These findings suggest that the co-application of AMF and Sb can positively influence maize nutritional quality and antioxidant properties of maize grains, offering benefits for sustainable agricultural practices. mays grains AMF Antimony primary metabolites antioxidant activities Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4258255","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":293967332,"identity":"701ea0ad-b5eb-4990-ae89-a19f13ca1bdd","order_by":0,"name":"Ahlem Zrig","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCeYGBgYDGwYGZgbGBwwMB4BCIBqvFkagloI0kBZmA4gWEE1Qy4fDICabBFFa+Gc3Nj66YZBmb97Ofq2ap+aOHD8DM9sHvJbcOdhsnGNgwyxzmKfsNs+xZ8aSDczMM/BacyOxTTrHII1Ngpkn7TYP2+HEDQf4D+PVIX8jsf13jsFhHpCWYp5/IC3MzHi1GABtYQZqkZBgZj/GzNtGhBbDG4nNIIcZAG1hlpzbd9hYspmAFrkbyQc/5/yxsZfgP/7ww5tvh+X42Zvxa0ECPAZMPCCaaA0MDOwPGH8Qr3oUjIJRMApGEAAAKGxGqDGQZ6IAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gabes","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahlem","middleName":"","lastName":"Zrig","suffix":""},{"id":293967333,"identity":"9d066041-7fa1-41ee-9b4b-f16de3771ca5","order_by":1,"name":"Ahmed Jerbi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université´deUniversité´de Montréal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ahmed","middleName":"","lastName":"Jerbi","suffix":""},{"id":293967334,"identity":"4c4284b4-3f1e-49c0-8e6d-56ea6bf1d33e","order_by":2,"name":"Michel Labrecque","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université´deUniversité´de Montréal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michel","middleName":"","lastName":"Labrecque","suffix":""},{"id":293967335,"identity":"57be002f-ad20-4f26-b68a-2159c013924e","order_by":3,"name":"Foued Hammouda","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gabes","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Foued","middleName":"","lastName":"Hammouda","suffix":""},{"id":293967336,"identity":"6a302bd4-f611-4fb2-938a-052d4de1ecac","order_by":4,"name":"Mohamed S. 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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been thoroughly investigated as a soil enhancement due to their ability to decrease the accumulation of many heavy metals in plant tissues. However, a quantitative and data-based consensus has yet to be reached on the effect of AMF application on maize plants, focusing on plant growth, nutrient content, and antioxidant properties in maize grains subjected to antimony treatment. A notable decrease in AMF-related parameters, including colonization, hyphal length, and arbuscules, was noted when AMF was combined with Sb compared to AMF alone. The AMF treatment alone enhanced plant growth, as indicated by the increased fresh and dry biomass, while Sb treatment alone reduced substantially the total fresh (66%) and dray weight (65%). However, combining AMF with Sb resulted in significant variations in macro- and micronutrients in maize grains. Notably, the combined AMF and Sb treatment influenced the nutritional value of maize grains, showing increased levels of organic acids, amino acids, and fatty acids compared to control. Furthermore, antioxidant activity of maize grains was enhanced by AMF inoculation, as indicated by high levels of polyphenols (39%), flavonoids (63%), ascorbic acid (ASC) (71%), and glutathione (GSH) (28%) content as response to Sb application. Also, a 33% rise in total tocopherol was noted, reflecting comparable upward trends. 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