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Growth, respiration and nutrient acquisition by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae and its host plant Plantago lanceolata in cooled soil
Author(s) -
KARASAWA T.,
HODGE A.,
FITTER A. H.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2011.02455.x
Subject(s) - glomus , plantago , plantaginaceae , biology , mycorrhiza , respiration , mycelium , fungus , nutrient , agronomy , arbuscular mycorrhiza , botany , horticulture , symbiosis , spore , bacteria , ecology , genetics
Although plant phosphate uptake is reduced by low soil temperature, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are responsible for P uptake in many plants. We investigated growth and carbon allocation of the AM fungus Glomus mosseae and a host plant ( Plantago lanceolata ) under reduced soil temperature. Plants were grown in compartmented microcosm units to determine the impact on both fungus and roots of a constant 2.7 °C reduction in soil temperature for 16 d. C allocation was measured using two 13 CO 2 pulse labels. Although root growth was reduced by cooling, AM colonization, growth and respiration of the extraradical mycelium (ERM) and allocation of assimilated 13 C to the ERM were all unaffected; the frequency of arbuscules increased. In contrast, root respiration and 13 C content and plant P and Zn content were all reduced by cooling. Cooling had less effect on N and K, and none on Ca and Mg content. The AM fungus G. mosseae was more able to sustain activity in cooled soil than were the roots of P. lanceolata , and so enhanced plant P content under a realistic degree of soil cooling that reduced plant growth. AM fungi may therefore be an effective means to promote plant nutrition under low soil temperatures.