Root colonization by the endophytic fungus shortens the juvenile phase of L. by fine tuning the floral promotion pathways.

, the mutualistic biotrophic root colonizing endosymbiotic fungus belonging to the order Sebacinales, offers host plants various benefits and enhances its growth and performance. The effect of colonization of in L. cv. Panniyur1 on growth advantages, floral induction and evocation was investigated. Growth and yield benefits are credited to the alteration in the phytohormone levels fine-tuned by plants in response to the fungal colonization and perpetuation. The remarkable upregulation in the phytohormone levels, as estimated by LC- MS/MS and quantified by qRT-PCR, revealed the effectual contribution by the endophyte. qRT-PCR results revealed a significant shift in the expression of putative flowering regulatory genes in the photoperiod induction pathway (, and ) gibberellin biosynthetic pathway genes ( PROTEIN ) autonomous (), and age pathway (). The endophytic colonization had no effect on vernalization () or biotic stress pathways (). The data suggest that responds positively to colonization, affecting preponement in floral induction as well as evocation, and thereby shortening the juvenile phase of the crop.