scholarly journals Breakdown and delayed cospeciation in the arbuscular mycorrhizal mutualism

2008 ◽  
Vol 275 (1638) ◽  
pp. 1029-1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Merckx ◽  
Martin I Bidartondo

The ancient arbuscular mycorrhizal association between the vast majority of plants and the fungal phylum Glomeromycota is a dominant nutritional mutualism worldwide. In the mycorrhizal mutualism, plants exchange photosynthesized carbohydrates for mineral nutrients acquired by fungi from the soil. This widespread cooperative arrangement is broken by ‘cheater’ plant species that lack the ability to photosynthesize and thus become dependent upon three-partite linkages (cheater–fungus–photosynthetic plant). Using the first fine-level coevolutionary analysis of mycorrhizas, we show that extreme fidelity towards fungi has led cheater plants to lengthy evolutionary codiversification. Remarkably, the plants' evolutionary history closely mirrors that of their considerably older mycorrhizal fungi. This demonstrates that one of the most diffuse mutualistic networks is vulnerable to the emergence, persistence and speciation of highly specific cheaters.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anurag Chaturvedi ◽  
Joaquim Cruz Corella ◽  
Chanz Robbins ◽  
Anita Loha ◽  
Laure Menin ◽  
...  

AbstractEarly-diverging fungi (EDF) are distinct from Dikarya and other eukaryotes, exhibiting high N6-methyldeoxyadenine (6mA) contents, rather than 5-methylcytosine (5mC). As plants transitioned to land the EDF sub-phylum, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; Glomeromycotina) evolved a symbiotic lifestyle with 80% of plant species worldwide. Here we show that these fungi exhibit 5mC and 6mA methylation characteristics that jointly set them apart from other fungi. The model AMF, R. irregularis, evolved very high levels of 5mC and greatly reduced levels of 6mA. However, unlike the Dikarya, 6mA in AMF occurs at symmetrical ApT motifs in genes and is associated with their transcription. 6mA is heterogeneously distributed among nuclei in these coenocytic fungi suggesting functional differences among nuclei. While far fewer genes are regulated by 6mA in the AMF genome than in EDF, most strikingly, 6mA methylation has been specifically retained in genes implicated in components of phosphate regulation; the quintessential hallmark defining this globally important symbiosis.


Land Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. p60
Author(s):  
Hongna Mu ◽  
Lei Fan ◽  
Shaohua Zhu ◽  
Taoze Sun

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) can promote the absorption of soil water and mineral nutrients, improve photosynthesis, and make host attain higher quality finally by establishing symbiotic relationship between AMF and host root. To improve Tulip gesneriana quality have practical meaning under no bad affect to cultivation soil, in the light of its economical and ecological values. However, some AMF may be diverse from others, the concrete function of AMF on commercial tulip varieties need to explore. Therefore, three different sets of  arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were inoculated into tulip rhizosphere soil, which were set as 4(Diversispora versiformis), 7(Diversispora spurca) and 1 + 3 + 4 (Rhizophagus intraradias + Funneliformis mosseae + Diversispora versiformis), respectively. The results showed that the activity of most of the measured indices increased, the average root diameter and sucrose content decreased in those three mycorrhizal treatments. Our research provide some theoretical basis for the application of AMF on T.gesneriana ecological cultivation in future.


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 1161-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
John N Klironomos ◽  
Miranda M Hart ◽  
Jane E Gurney ◽  
Peter Moutoglis

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in northern temperate ecosystems must function during extremes in environmental conditions. However, it is not known if arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that co-exist in soil communities have similar tolerances to stresses such as drought and freezing. The phenology of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi was determined over one year in a community in southern Ontario, Canada. Five fungal species from the same community were then used to inoculate five plant species, in all possible combinations, and were subjected to either a freezing treatment or a drought treatment after which new seedlings were transplanted into the treated pots. The percent colonization of roots of each plant species was measured as the difference in mean colonization from the control. Freezing reduced percent colonization in almost every case, whereas drought resulted in both increased and decreased percent colonization. Fungal species responded differently to the treatments, and there was a pronounced plant × fungus effect. These results support the hypothesis that distinct functional groups of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi exist, and these may determine plant community structure.Key words: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, freezing, drying, functional diversity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 118-126
Author(s):  
Clémentine Lepinay ◽  
Tomáš Dostálek ◽  
Hana Pánková ◽  
Martina Svobodová ◽  
Jana Rydlová ◽  
...  

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 277-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ülle Saks ◽  
John Davison ◽  
Maarja Öpik ◽  
Martti Vasar ◽  
Mari Moora ◽  
...  

We analyzed arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities in plant root samples from a natural forest ecosystem — a primeval forest in Järvselja, Estonia. AMF small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA genes were subjected to 454-pyrosequencing and BLAST-based taxonomic identification. Seventy-six AMF sequence groups (virtual taxa, VT) were identified from plant roots. Taken together with seven additional VT recorded in an earlier investigation of soil AMF communities at the site, this represents the highest number of AMF reported from a single ecosystem to date. The six study plant species hosted similar AMF communities. However, AMF community composition in plant roots was significantly different from that in soil and considerably more VT were retrieved from roots than from soil. AMF VT identified from plant roots as a whole and from individual plant species were frequently phylogenetically clustered compared with local and global taxon pools, suggesting that nonrandom assembly processes, notably habitat filtering, may have shaped fungal assemblages. In contrast, the phylogenetic dispersion of AMF communities in soil did not differ from random subsets of the local or global taxon pools.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieta Hristozkova ◽  
Maria Geneva ◽  
Ira Stancheva ◽  
Ivan Iliev ◽  
Concepción Azcón-Aguilar

AbstractPhysalis peruvianais one of the most promising tropical fruit plants because of its rapid growth, high yield, and nutritional quality. This study was designed to investigate plant development under heavy metal contamination (Cd, Pb) and responsiveness to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization byRhizophagus clarumandClaroideoglomus claroideum. The antioxidant capacity, total lipid content and fatty acid profile in fruits, accumulation of Cd and Pb in different plant parts, plant dry biomass, and mycorrhizal colonization were determined. As a result of inoculation, a considerable reduction in Cd and Pb in the fruits was observed, compared with non-inoculated plants. The fruit number and dry weight increased in plants associated withC. claroideum.These plants also showed higher acid phosphatase activity, root protein accumulation and glomalin production. The type of antioxidant defense was AMF strain-dependent. Antioxidant activity and H2O2neutralization were enzymatic rather than non-enzymatic processes in the fruits ofC. claroideumplants compared with those forming an association withR. clarum. Mycorrhizal establishment changed the composition and concentration of fruits’ fatty acids. The ratio of unsaturated fatty acids was increased. With respect to the accumulation of bioactive compounds in golden berry the present findings are important for obtaining the optimum benefits of mycorrhizal association under unfavorable conditions.


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