Fungal endophytes nearly double minimum leaf conductance in seedlings of a neotropical tree species

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Elizabeth Arnold ◽  
Bettina M. J. Engelbrecht
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Vascular Tissue ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Neotropical Tree

Drought strongly influences plant phenology, growth and mortality in tropical forests, thereby shaping plant performance, population dynamics and community structure (Bunker & Carson 2005, Condit et al. 1995). Microbial symbionts of plants profoundly influence host water relations (Lösch & Gansert 2002), but are rarely considered in studies of tropical plant physiology. In particular, plant–fungus associations, which are ubiquitous in plant communities and especially common in tropical forests, play important and varied roles in plant water status. Fungal pathogens associated with roots, vascular tissue and foliage may interfere with water uptake and transport, increase rates of foliar transpiration, and induce xylem embolism and tissue death (Agrios 1997). In contrast, rhizosphere mutualists such as ecto- and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi may benefit hosts by increasing surface area for water uptake, enhancing stomatal regulation of water loss, and increasing root hydraulic conductivity (Auge 2001, Lösch & Gansert 2002).

scholarly journals Divergence in bidirectional plant-soil feedbacks between montane annual and coastal perennial ecotypes of yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariah M. McIntosh ◽  
Lorinda Bullington ◽  
Ylva Lekberg ◽  
Lila Fishman
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Mechanistic Study ◽  
List Type ◽  
Mimulus Guttatus ◽  
Plant Variation ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
Soil Origin

SUMMARYUnderstanding the physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying plant variation in interactions with root-associated biota (RAB) requires a micro-evolutionary approach. We use locally adapted montane annual and coastal perennial ecotypes of Mimulus guttatus (yellow monkeyflower) to examine population-scale differences in plant-RAB-soil feedbacks.We characterized fungal communities for the two ecotypes in-situ and used a full-factorial greenhouse experiment to investigate the effects of plant ecotype, RAB source, and soil origin on plant performance and endophytic root fungal communities.The two ecotypes harbored different fungal communities and responsiveness to soil biota was highly context-dependent. Soil origin, RAB source, and plant ecotype all affected the intensity of biotic feedbacks on plant performance. Feedbacks were primarily negative, and we saw little evidence of local adaptation to either soils or RAB. Both RAB source and soil origin significantly shaped fungal communities in roots of experimental plants. Further, the perennial ecotype was more colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) than the montane ecotype, and preferentially recruited home AMF taxa.Our results suggest life history divergence and distinct edaphic habitats shape plant responsiveness to RAB and influence specific associations with potentially mutualistic root endophytic fungi. Our results advance the mechanistic study of intraspecific variation in plant–soil–RAB interactions.

Use of fungal endophytes to increase cucurbit plant performance by conferring abiotic and biotic stress tolerance

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley Freeman ◽  
Russell Rodriguez ◽  
Adel Al-Abed ◽  
Roni Cohen ◽  
David Ezra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Desert Areas

Major threats to agricultural sustainability in the 21st century are drought, increasing temperatures, soil salinity and soilborne pathogens, all of which are being exacerbated by climate change and pesticide abolition and are burning issues related to agriculture in the Middle East. We have found that Class 2 fungal endophytes adapt native plants to environmental stresses (drought, heat and salt) in a habitat-specific manner, and that these endophytes can confer stress tolerance to genetically distant monocot and eudicot hosts. In the past, we generated a uv non-pathogenic endophytic mutant of Colletotrichum magna (path-1) that colonized cucurbits, induced drought tolerance and enhanced growth, and protected 85% - 100% against disease caused by certain pathogenic fungi. We propose: 1) utilizing path-1 and additional endophtyic microorganisms to be isolated from stress-tolerant local, wild cucurbit watermelon, Citrulluscolocynthis, growing in the Dead Sea and Arava desert areas, 2) generate abiotic and biotic tolerant melon crop plants, colonized by the isolated endophytes, to increase crop yields under extreme environmental conditions such as salinity, heat and drought stress, 3) manage soilborne fungal pathogens affecting curubit crop species growing in the desert areas. This is a unique and novel "systems" approach that has the potential to utilize natural plant adaptation for agricultural development. We envisage that endophyte-colonized melons will eventually be used to overcome damages caused by soilborne diseases and also for cultivation of this crop, under stress conditions, utilizing treated waste water, thus dealing with the limited resource of fresh water.

Improvement of plant performance under water deficit with the employment of biological and chemical priming agents

2018 ◽  
Vol 156 (5) ◽  
pp. 680-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Balestrini ◽  
W. Chitarra ◽  
C. Antoniou ◽  
M. Ruocco ◽  
V. Fotopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Plant Tolerance ◽  
Climate Change Research ◽  
Chemical Agents ◽  
Chemical Priming

AbstractDrought represents one of the major constraints on agricultural productivity and food security and in future is destined to spread widely as a consequence of climate change. Research efforts are focused on developing strategies to make crops more resilient and to mitigate the effects of stress on crop production. In this context, the use of root-associated microbial communities and chemical priming strategies able to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, including drought, have attracted increasing attention in recent years. The current review offers an overview of recent research aimed at verifying the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and chemical agents to improve plant tolerance to drought and to highlight the mechanisms involved in this improvement. Attention will be devoted mainly to current knowledge on the mechanisms involved in water transport.

scholarly journals Mycorrhizal Fungi as Bioprotectors of Crops Against Verticillium Wilt—A Hypothetical Scenario Under Changing Environmental Conditions

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1468
Author(s):  
Nieves Goicoechea
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Hypothetical Scenario ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Amf Communities

The association that many crops can establish with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) present in soils can enhance the resistance of the host plants against several pathogens, including Verticillium spp. The increased resistance of mycorrhizal plants is mainly due to the improved nutritional and water status of crops and to enhanced antioxidant metabolism and/or increased production of secondary metabolites in the plant tissues. However, the effectiveness of AMF in protecting their host plants against Verticillium spp. may vary depending on the environmental factors. Some environmental factors, such as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the availability of soil water and the air and soil temperatures, are predicted to change drastically by the end of the century. The present paper discusses to what extent the climate change may influence the role of AMF in protecting crops against Verticillium-induced wilt, taking into account the current knowledge about the direct and indirect effects that the changing environment can exert on AMF communities in soils and on the symbiosis between crops and AMF, as well as on the development, incidence and impact of diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens.

scholarly journals Enhancement of Drought Tolerance in Trifoliate Orange by Mycorrhiza: Changes in Root Sucrose and Proline Metabolisms

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 270-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei ZHANG ◽  
Jia-Dong HE ◽  
Qiu-Dan NI ◽  
Qiang-Sheng WU ◽  
Ying-Ning ZOU
Keyword(s):  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Lateral Roots ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Sucrose Phosphate Synthase ◽  
Poncirus Trifoliata ◽  
Trifoliate Orange ◽  
Am Symbiosis

Sucrose and proline metabolisms are often associated with drought tolerance of plants. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) species (Funneliformis mosseae and Paraglomus occultum) on root biomass, lateral root number, root sucrose and proline metabolisms in trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) seedlings under well-watered (WW) or drought stress (DS). All the AMF treatments significantly increased root dry weight, taproot length, and the number of lateral roots in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class under WW and DS. Mycorrhizal seedlings conferred considerably higher fructose and glucose concentrations but lower sucrose accumulation, regardless of soil water status. Under DS, F. mosseae treatment significantly increased root sucrose synthase (SS, degradative direction) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity but deceased root acid invertase (AI) and neutral invertase (NI) activity, and P. occultum inoculation markedly increased root AI, NI, SS, and SPS activities. AMF treatments led to a lower proline accumulation in roots, in company with lower activities of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS), δ-ornithine aminotransferase (OAT), Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR), and proline dehydrogenase (ProDH) in roots. It appears that the AM symbiosis induced greater root development and sucrose and proline metabolisms to adapt DS.

scholarly journals Rhizobia associated with neotropical tree Centrolobium tomentosum used in riparian restoration

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 498-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Pagano
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Antibiotics Resistance ◽  
Fast Growing ◽  
Nursery Culture ◽  
Mixed Inoculum ◽  
Neotropical Tree ◽  
Molecular Relationships

<I>Centrolobium tomentosum</I> is a tropical legume tree indicated for functional and structural restoration of riparian areas. This study was conducted to characterize the rhizobia isolated from nodules of <I>C. tomentosum in situ</I> and to determine their capacity of renodulation, in an experimental area of land rehabilitation in the Rio Doce valley. Nodulation potential to inoculation with 2 selected fast-growing <I>Rhizobium</I> strains separately and a mixed inoculum of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi was evaluated by the use of antibiotics resistance. Flood disturbance were observed not to affect renodulation by fast-growing strains. DNA fingerprinting RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) profiles were used to examine molecular relationships among field isolates, inoculants and reference strains. Maximal renodulation was exhibited by strain BHCBAb1 after 24 months after transplantation. <I>Centrolobium tomentosum</I> forms symbiosis with fast- and slow-growing <I>Rhizobium</I> strains, and it is suggested that their nursery culture could be improved by inoculation of selected strain under low nitrogen-input conditions.

scholarly journals Simultaneous monitoring of electrical capacitance and water uptake activity of plant root system

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imre Cseresnyés ◽  
Tünde Takács ◽  
Anna Füzy ◽  
Kálmán Rajkai
Keyword(s):  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Electrical Capacitance ◽  
Relative Increment ◽  
Uptake Activity ◽  
Daily Transpiration

Abstract Pot experiments were designed to test the applicability of root electrical capacitance measurement for in situ monitoring of root water uptake activity by growing cucumber and bean cultivars in a growth chamber. Half of the plants were inoculated with Funneliformis mosseae arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, while the other half served as non-infected controls. Root electrical capacitance and daily transpiration were monitored during the whole plant ontogeny. Phenology-dependent changes of daily transpiration (related to root water uptake) and root electrical capacitance proved to be similar as they showed upward trends from seedling emergence to the beginning of flowering stage, and thereafter decreased continuously during fruit setting. A few days after arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi-colonization, daily transpiration and root electrical capacitance of infected plants became significantly higher than those of non-infected counterparts, and the relative increment of the measured parameters was greater for the more highly mycorrhizal-dependent bean cultivar compared to that of cucumber. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization caused 29 and 69% relative increment in shoot dry mass for cucumbers and beans, respectively. Mycorrhization resulted in 37% increase in root dry mass for beans, but no significant difference was observed for cucumbers. Results indicate the potential of root electrical capacitance measurements for monitoring the changes and differences of root water uptake rate.

Effectiveness and persistence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the physiology, nutrient uptake and yield of Crimson seedless grapevine

2014 ◽  
Vol 153 (6) ◽  
pp. 1084-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. NICOLÁS ◽  
J. F. MAESTRE-VALERO ◽  
J. J. ALARCÓN ◽  
F. PEDRERO ◽  
J. VICENTE-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungus ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Photosynthetic Performance ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Periodic Monitoring ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Second Year

SUMMARYIn the present study, carried out in South-eastern Spain, a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF;Glomus iranicumvar.tenuihypharumsp.nova) was introduced through drip irrigation to inoculate Crimson grapevines. Their effects on the physiological and nutritional activity were evaluated for 2 years (2011–12). Additionally, during the second year of experimentation, the persistence of mycorrhizae on the grapevine and their effects were innovatively analysed.The AMF satisfactorily colonized the Crimson grapevine roots, improved the plants water status, induced an improvement in the photosynthetic performance that increased the water use efficiency, promoted the uptake of phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) and led to a mobilization of starch reserves in the apex in winter, which was possibly responsible for enhancing root development. Moreover, inoculated plants had significantly increased yield and improved quality of grapes, which led to early grape maturation. Overall, the persistent effect of AMF during the second year produced similar positive effects, although to a lesser extent, to those obtained in the inoculated treatment.The results found in the present study show that this AMF application technique can be recommended for sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid areas. Moreover, as a result of the competition with the native mycorrhizae, periodic monitoring of the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization and re-inoculation in order to obtain all the positive effects evidenced in the inoculated treatment is recommended.

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