Geosiphon pyriforme is a unique symbiosis between a fungus, belonging to the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Since more than 80 % of the land plant species form an AM, the importance of this symbiosis becomes evident. In our research on heavy metal uptake and resistance of plants, Geosiphon is used as a model system for the AM symbiosis. Whilst we have studied heavy metal uptake of Geosiphon pyriforme from a macroscopic point of view we will now present first and preliminary results of element distributions in heavy metal stressed and non-stressed cryo-sections of Geoslphon pyriforme.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization has little consequence for plant heavy metal uptake in contaminated field soils