The effects of an endophytic fungal elicitor from Cunninghamella sp. (AL4) on the volatile oil production and defence responses of host plant Atractylodes lancea were investigated. The aim was to improve the capability of endophytic fungi resources in promoting medicinal plant secondary metabolites. The results showed that the endophytic fungal elicitor significantly stimulated volatile oil accumulation. The best inducing concentration of the elicitor for volatile oil production was 30 mgL -1 .

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... The highest amount of volatile oil was harvested 9 days (d) after elicitor treatment. The activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase increased by 2.79-folds compared with the control of 7 d after treatment. The elicitor also enhanced the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, peroxidase superoxide dismutase, polyphenol oxidase, and catalase. These enhanced activities led to improved plant defence-related secondary metabolite synthesis ability. In addition, the elicitor-treated cells were consistently healthy, and had slightly increased biomass. The results demonstrated for the first time the optimal induction time and concentration of the endophytic fungal elicitor, as well as the changes in physiological indices after endophyte-host interaction. The information provided in the present study may be applied in large-scale medicinal plant suspension cultures.