Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungi on Growth, Cadmium Uptake, Osmolyte, and Phytochelatin Synthesis in Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. Under NaCl and Cd Stresses

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neera Garg ◽  
Shikha Chandel
Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda M. Hart ◽  
Monika Gorzelak ◽  
Diane Ragone ◽  
Susan J. Murch

It is difficult to understand why arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities change over time. The role of host identity confounds our understanding of successional changes in AM fungal communities because hosts exert strong selective pressure on their root-associated microbes. In this study we looked at the AM fungi associated with a long-lived perennial breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg) to see how AM communities change over the life span of a single, long-lived host. Using 454 high-throughput sequencing, we found evidence that older trees had more AM fungal taxa than younger trees and were associated with different AM fungal communities, but these differences were not apparent early in the life cycle. Older trees were dominated by species of Rhizophagus, whereas younger trees and genets were dominated by species of Glomus. Some taxa were only detected in older trees (e.g., Funneliformis) or genets (e.g., Racocetra and Scutellospora), indicating that certain AM fungal taxa may serve as “indicators” of the successional age of the fungal community. These results provide important information about a poorly studied system and give insight into how AM communities change over longer time scales.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259959
Author(s):  
Na Wu ◽  
Zhen Li ◽  
Sen Meng ◽  
Fei Wu

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (Rhizophagus intraradices) in the amelioration of the water deficit-mediated negative influence on the growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant system in Euonymus maackii Rupr. was examined. E. maackii seedlings were subjected to 5 water deficit levels, soil water contents of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% field capacity (FC), and 2 inoculation treatments, with and without AM inoculation. The water deficit increasingly limited the seedling height, biomass accumulation in shoots and roots, chlorophyll content, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters with an increasing water deficit level. In addition, water deficit stimulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), in both shoots and roots, except under 20% FC conditions. E. maackii seedlings under all water deficit conditions formed symbiosis well with AM fungi, which significantly ameliorated the drought-mediated negative effect, especially under 40% and 60% FC conditions. Under 40% to 80% FC conditions, AM formation improved seedling growth and photosynthesis by significantly enhancing the biomass accumulation, chlorophyll content and assimilation. Mycorrhizal seedlings showed better tolerance and less sensitivity to a water deficit, reflected in the lower SOD activities of shoots and roots and CAT activity of shoots under 40% and 60% FC conditions. Downregulation of the antioxidant system in mycorrhizal seedlings suggested better maintenance of redox homeostasis and protection of metabolism, including biomass accumulation and assimilation. All the results advocated the positive role of R. intraradices inoculation in E. maackii against a water deficit, especially under 40% FC, which suggested the distinct AM performance in drought tolerance and the potential role of the combination of E. maackii-AM fungi in ecological restoration in arid regions.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 915-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Branscheid ◽  
Daniela Sieh ◽  
Bikram Datt Pant ◽  
Patrick May ◽  
Emanuel A. Devers ◽  
...  

Many plants improve their phosphate (Pi) availability by forming mutualistic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Pi-repleted plants are much less colonized by AM fungi than Pi-depleted plants. This indicates a link between plant Pi signaling and AM development. MicroRNAs (miR) of the 399 family are systemic Pi-starvation signals important for maintenance of Pi homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana and might also qualify as signals regulating AM development in response to Pi availability. MiR399 could either represent the systemic low-Pi signal promoting or required for AM formation or they could act as counter players of systemic Pi-availability signals that suppress AM symbiosis. To test either of these assumptions, we analyzed the miR399 family in the AM-capable plant model Medicago truncatula and could experimentally confirm 10 novel MIR399 genes in this species. Pi-depleted plants showed increased expression of mature miR399 and multiple pri-miR399, and unexpectedly, levels of five of the 15 pri-miR399 species were higher in leaves of mycorrhizal plants than in leaves of nonmycorrhizal plants. Compared with nonmycorrhizal Pi-depleted roots, mycorrhizal roots of Pi-depleted M. truncatula and tobacco plants had increased Pi contents due to symbiotic Pi uptake but displayed higher mature miR399 levels. Expression levels of MtPho2 remained low and PHO2-dependent Pi-stress marker transcript levels remained high in these mycorrhizal roots. Hence, an AM symbiosis-related signal appears to increase miR399 expression and decrease PHO2 activity. MiR399 overexpression in tobacco suggested that miR399 alone is not sufficient to improve mycorrhizal colonization supporting the assumption that, in mycorrhizal roots, increased miR399 are necessary to keep the MtPho2 expression and activity low, which would otherwise increase in response to symbiotic Pi uptake.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. L. Wilson ◽  
G. J. Ash ◽  
J. D. I. Harper

Messina [Melilotus siculus (Turra) Vitman ex. B. D Jacks] is a salt- and waterlogging-tolerant annual legume that could be highly productive on saline land. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form a symbiotic relationship with the majority of terrestrial plant species, and improved productivity of plants inoculated with AM fungi under saline conditions has been attributed to the increased uptake of nutrients such as phosphorus (P). However, the mycorrhizal status of M. siculus under saline or non-saline conditions is unknown, as is the role of AM in improved nutrition and nodulation. In this study, the role of AM fungi in growth improvement and nodulation of M. siculus was examined in saline and non-saline soil. The M. siculus plants were inoculated with either a single AM species or mixed AM species, or remained uninoculated, and were grown at three levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) (0, 80, and 250 mm NaCl). AM-inoculated plants had significantly greater nodulation than plants that did not receive AM inoculum, regardless of salinity level. Plants inoculated with mixed AM species at 250 mm NaCl showed improved survival (90%) compared with the plants inoculated with single AM species or uninoculated control plants (30%). Within each salinity level, plants inoculated with mixed AM species had significantly greater dry weight than all other treatments. In addition, plants inoculated with mixed AM species had increased total uptake of P. It is likely that the increased growth observed in AM-inoculated M. siculus plants is due to improved P nutrition, showing the potential of AM fungi to enhance the growth of M. siculus on saline land.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Wu ◽  
Zhen Li ◽  
Sen Meng ◽  
Fei Wu

Abstract The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (Rhizophagus intraradices) in amelioration of water deficit mediated negative influence on growth, photosynthesis and antioxidant system in Euonymus maackii Rupr. was examined. E. maackii seedlings were subjected to 5 water deficit levels: soil water contents of 20 %, 40 %, 60 %, 80 % and 100 % field capacity (FC) respectively, and 2 inoculation treatment: with and without AM inoculation. Water deficit increasingly limited seedlings growth of height, biomass accumulation of shoot and root, chlorophyll content, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters along the increase of water deficit level. In addition, Water deficit stimulated the activities of antioxidant enzymatic activities, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) of both shoot and root, except under 20 % FC condition. E. maackii seedlings under all water deficit conditions formed AM symbiosis well with AM fungi, which ameliorated the drought mediated negative effect significantly, especially under 40 % and 60 % FC conditions. Under 40 % to 80 % FC conditions, AM formation improved seedlings growth and photosynthesis by significantly enhancing biomass accumulation, chlorophyll content and assimilation. Mycorrhizal seedlings showed better tolerance and less sensitive to water deficit, reflected in lower SOD activities of shoot and root, and CAT activity of shoot under 40 % and 60 % FC conditions. Down-regulation of antioxidant system in mycorrhizal seedlings suggested better maintenance of redox homeostasis and protection of metabolism, including biomass accumulation and assimilation. All the results advocated the positive role of R. intraradices inoculation in E. maackii against water deficit, which suggested the potential role of AM fungi in ecological restoration in arid region.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ramakrishnan ◽  
G. Bhuvaneswari

Mycorrhizal fungi greatly enhanced the ability of plants to take up phosphorus and other nutrients those are relatively immobile and exist in low concentration in the soil solution. Fungi can be important in the uptake of other nutrients by the host plant. Mycorrhizae establish symbiotic relationships with plants and play an essential role in plant growth, disease protection, and overall soil quality. Of the seven types of mycorrhizae described in current scientific literature (arbuscular, ecto, ectendo, arbutoid, monotropoid, ericoid and orchidaceous mycorrhizae), the arbuscular and ectomycorrhizae are the most abundant and widespread. This chapter presents an overview of current knowledge of mycorrhizal interactions, processes, and potential benefits to society. The molecular basis of nutrient exchange between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and host plants is presented; the role of AM fungi in disease protection, alleviation of heavy metal stress and increasing grain production. Most land plants form associations with mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizas are mutualistic associations between fungi and plant roots. They are described as symbiotic because the fungus receives photo synthetically derived carbon compounds and the plant has increased access to mineral nutrients and sometimes water.


This chapter focuses on biological invasions and presents one example of how we can experiment with an interdisciplinary repertoire of research questions, methods, and epistemologies to produce knowledge about the biological world—in short, an experiment about experimenting. The experiment under discussion is a collaborative project based in Southern California, where human-made disturbance has a very long and destructive history. Here, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and their role in plant ecology are observed within the environmental contexts of growth, especially the soil communities of plants. Mycorrhizal fungi and their relationship with native and exotic plant species offer a great context for a science/science studies project, and this work on fungi that were in “mutualistic” relationships also challenged the role of competition as the critical driver of ecology and evolution of plants.


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