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Temperature‐mediated local adaptation alters the symbiotic function in arbuscular mycorrhiza
Author(s) -
Yang Rong,
Cai Xiaobu,
Li Xiaolin,
Christie Peter,
Zhang Junling,
Gai Jingping
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.13737
Subject(s) - biology , abiotic component , adaptation (eye) , local adaptation , symbiosis , allopatric speciation , ecosystem , ecology , biotic component , arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi , arbuscular mycorrhizal , sympatric speciation , botany , inoculation , bacteria , horticulture , neuroscience , population , genetics , demography , sociology
Summary Variation in the symbiotic function of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi) has been demonstrated among distinct biotic and abiotic interactions. However, there is little knowledge on how local temperature conditions influence the functional divergence of AM symbionts in alpine ecosystems. Here, we conduct a reciprocal inoculation experiment to explore the three‐way interactions among plants, AM fungal inoculum and temperature at sites of contrasting elevation. Evidence of local adaptation of plant growth was found only under low temperature conditions, with no consistent local versus foreign effect found in AM fungal performance. The origin of either the plant or the inoculum relative to the temperature was important in explaining symbiotic function. Specifically, when inoculum and temperature were sympatric but allopatric to the plant, poor adaptation by the plant to the novel environment was clearly found under both temperature conditions. Further analysis found that the symbiotic function was inversely related to fungal diversity under high temperature conditions. These results suggest that local adaptation represents a powerful factor in the establishment of novel combinations of plant, inoculum and temperature, and confirms the importance of taking into account both biotic and abiotic interactions in the prediction of the response of symbionts to global environmental change.