Root apical meristems ofAllium porrum L. as affected by arbuscular mycorrhizae and phosphorus

Summary Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi significantly improve plant growth in soils with low phosphorus availability and cause many changes in root morphology, similar to those produced by increased P nutrition, mainly depending on root apex size and activity. The aim of this work was to discriminate between the morphogenetic role of AM fungi and P in leek (Allium porrum L.) by feeding mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants with two nutrient solutions containing 3.2 or 96 M P and examining specific parameters related to adventitious root apices (apex size, mitotic cycle, and RNA synthesis). The results showed that AM fungi blocked meristem activity as indicated by the higher percentages of inactive apices and metaphases in the apical meristem of mycorrhizal plants, whereas the high P supply lengthened the mitotic cycle without blocking the apices, resulting in steady, slow root growth. The possible involvement of abscisic acid in the regulation of root apex activity is discussed.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid - AM arbuscular mycorrhizae - CI and CII nonmycorrhizal control plants grown with low or high phosphorus concentration - MI and MII mycorrhizal plants grown with low or high phosphorus concentration - PGR plant growth regulator     

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) depends on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for growth and P uptake at intermediate but not high soil P levels in the field

The contribution of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to growth and phosphorus (P) uptake by oilseed flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) was examined in two field experiments covering soil P levels from 20–86 mg kg-1 NaHCO3-extractable P. The fumigant dazomet was applied to the soil in half of the plots to obtain control plants with reduced mycorrhiza formation. An extensive AMF colonization of up to 48% of the root length was established in untreated soil of both experiments, although P fertilization reduced colonization to 28–39% at the latest harvests. Fumigation markedly decreased or totally prevented AMF colonization throughout the experiments. Root growth responded to fumigation by increased total and specific root length. Shoot P uptake was decreased by fumigation at soil P levels lower than ca. 50 mg kg-1 whereas shoot growth was reduced by fumigation at soil P levels lower than ca. 40 mg kg-1. The effects of fumigation were ascribed to the suppression of mycorrhiza formation. The effect of the AMF increased with decreasing soil P levels. Phosphorus inflow through roots (based on shoot P uptake) was reduced more strongly by fumigation than total P uptake. The P inflow through fungal tissue in roots was estimated to 4 × 10-14 mol P cm-1 s-1. We conclude that AMF are essential to flax growth at soil P levels below ca. 40 mg P kg-1, which is representative of the conditions under which most flax is grown.     

Effects of VA mycorrhizal colonization on photosynthesis and biomass production of Trifolium repens L.

The influence of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (M) colonization on biomass production and photosynthesis of Trifolium repens L. was investigated in two experiments in which the foliar nitrogen and phosphorus contents of non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants were manipulated to be no lower than that of M plants. Throughout both experiments there was a stimulation in the rate of CO₂ assimilation of the youngest, fully expanded leaf of M compared with NM plants. In addition, M plants exhibited a higher specific leaf area compared with NM plants, a response that maximized the area available for CO₂ assimilation per unit of carbon (C) invested. Despite the increased rate of photosynthesis in M plants there was no evidence that the additional C gained was converted to biomass production of M plants. It is suggested that this additional C gained by colonized plants was allocated to the mycorrhizal fungus and that it is the fungus, by acting as a sink for assimilates, that facilitated the stimulation in the rate of photosynthesis of the plant partner.     

A taxon-specific oligonucleotide probe for temperate zone soil isolates of Glomus mosseae

 The 5.8 S subunit and flanking internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions in nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) from spores of Glomus mosseae FL156 and UK118 were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using ITS1 and ITS4 as primers. The amplification product from template DNA of UK118 was cloned and sequenced (569 bp); the amplified DNA from FL156 was sequenced directly (582 bp). There was a 95% sequence similarity between DNAs amplified from the two isolates; in contrast, major dissimilarities with partial sequences of seven other glomalean taxa were observed. Four oligonucleotide sequences unique to Glomus mosseae were identified as potential primers. Their specificity to Glomus mosseae was assessed by PCR amplification of genomic DNA from spores from 36 glomalean fungi: 13 isolates of Glomus mosseae, two Glomus monosporum, 10 other Glomus isolates, and 11 other glomalean taxa from each of four other genera. The Glomus mosseae isolates were from a broad range of temperate zone agricultural soils. Oligonucleotide pair GMOS1 : GMOS2 primed specific amplification of an oligonucleotide sequence (approximately 400 bp) present in all Glomus mosseae isolates and two isolates of the closely related Glomus monosporum. This primer pair did not prime PCR when the template consisted of DNA from any of the other glomalean fungi or any of the nonmycorrhizal controls. In addition, a 24-mer oligonucleotide, designated GMOS5, hybridized with Glomus mosseae and Glomus monosporum DNA amplified by PCR using primer pairs ITS1 : ITS4 and GMOS1 : GMOS2. Colony-blot assays showed that GMOS5 hybridized to 100% and 97% of E. coli pUC19 clones of amplification products from Glomus mosseae FL156 and UK118 DNA templates, respectively, indicating that nearly all clones contained an homologous sequence. GMOS5 was used successfully to detect specifically Glomus mosseae in DNA extracted from colonized sudan grass (Sorghum sudanense L.) roots and amplified by PCR using the primer pair GMOS1 : GMOS2. The results confirm several previous indications that Glomus mosseae and Glomus monosporum are indistinguishable taxonomic entities. Accepted: 14 February 1998     

Reflexions on some aspects of the interactions among ROS,RNS, and Ca2+ in response to a mycorrhizal or a pathogenic fungus

In vivo redox activities in the apoplast of axenically cultured intact seedling roots (superoxide anion generation, and superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities) in contact with the compatible arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) were clearly attenuated in comparison with those in contact with the pathogenic fungus (PF) or treated with MeJA, even at the early stages of treatment. Contact of roots with the AMF did not enhance the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids, and phenylpropanoid glycosides), while contact with the PF significantly enhanced the biosynthesis of all phenolic fractions. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species both seemed to be involved in these responses from the first moments of contact, but the fluorescence imaging of roots showed that ROS were mainly accumulated in the apoplast while NO was mainly stored in the cytosol. In conclusion, intact olive seedling roots clearly differentiated between AMF and PF.     

Impact of Phyllostachys heterocycla ‘Pubescens’ expansion on mycorrhizal associations of the adjacent forests

 毛竹(Phyllostachys heterocycla ‘Pubescens’)凭借其独特的生长特性极易扩张进入周边的常绿或针阔混交森林群落并取而代之。菌根减弱假说对毛竹林扩张导致周边林分枯亡并抑制林下幼苗更新的机制进行了解释, 即毛竹林的成功扩张是由于毛竹蔓延引起森林群落的菌根系统紊乱, 使宿主植物与菌根真菌的共生关系受到干扰, 进而影响了宿主植物的分布与更新。该研究以浙江省西天目山国家自然保护区为研究区域, 对菌根减弱假说进行了检验。通过在毛竹-针阔混交林交接区沿毛竹扩张方向设置毛竹纯林、竹-林过渡带、针阔混交林3种类型的样带, 选取在针阔混交林、竹-林过渡带同时存在的6种优势乔灌树种——杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)、枫香树(Liquidambar formosana)、青冈(Cyclobalanopsis glauca)、柳杉(Cryptomeria fortunei)、江浙山胡椒(Lindera chienii)、毛柄连蕊茶(Camellia fraterna), 测定这6个树种在两样带中的菌根侵染频率和强度, 检测在毛竹林扩张中周边森林群落菌根的响应, 同时对比了毛竹在毛竹纯林和竹-林过渡带菌根感染率和强度的变化, 检验该假设。实验结果表明: 1)针阔混交林和竹-林过渡带的主要树种菌根都具有较高的菌根侵染频率(> 95%), 且不同林分间林木的侵染频率无显著差异(p > 0.1); 2)在竹-林过渡带杉木和江浙山胡椒的丛枝菌根侵染强度较针阔混交林明显增加(p < 0.1); 3)毛竹的丛枝菌根侵染频率和强度远低于其他针阔树种, 且在扩张前后没有显著变化(p > 0.1)。实验结果否定菌根减弱假说。     

中外水质基准发展趋势和存在的问题

水质基准,是制定水质标准限值的重要依据,是科学的水质管理体系的重要组成部分。我国水体污染形势严峻,区域环境差异明显,亟需建立适合我国水环境特征的水质基准作为水质控制和管理的理论依据。本文就中外水质基准的研究情况进行了探讨,主要包括以下几个方面:1)水质基准的概念及含义;2)欧美国家水质基准的研究历史、现状、发展趋势及存在的关键问题;3)我国水质基准体系的研究重点和发展趋势:包括区域水环境特征调查、人体流行病学调查和生物毒理学研究、水质基准理论与方法学的研究。