Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) live in symbiosis with plant roots, facilitating mineral nutrient transfer from soil to hosts through large networks of extraradical hyphae. Limited data are available on the fungal structures (appressoria) connecting soil- to root-based mycelium, in relation to plant nutrition. Two in vivo systems were set up using three AMF, Funneliformis mosseae, Funneliformis coronatus and Rhizoglomus irregulare, grown in symbiosis with Cichorium intybus. The assessment of plant P content, number of appressoria, diameter of their subtending hyphae and length of colonized roots allowed calculation of the total cross-section area of appressorium-subtending hyphae, which differed among the three AMF and was correlated with plant P contents and with extraradical mycelium density. A conservative evaluation of P fluxes from soil- to plant-based hyphae occurring through appressoria gave values ranging from 1.7 to 4.2 × 10−8 mol cm−2 s−1 (moles per total cross-section area of the appressorium subtending hyphae per time elapsed), depending on AMF identity. This work suggests that, beyond intraradical colonization and extraradical mycelium extent, connections between extraradical and intraradical fungal mycelium through appressoria are important for mycorrhizal plant nutrition, as appressorium structural traits and density can be related to P transfer mediated by AMF.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This study received financial support from the University of Pisa (Fondi di Ateneo) and from CNR.
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MG, CS and AP planned and designed the research. AP and CS performed experiments and analysed data. MG and CS wrote the manuscript. This paper was part of A. Pepe’s doctoral thesis work at the University of Pisa.
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Pepe, A., Giovannetti, M. & Sbrana, C. Appressoria and phosphorus fluxes in mycorrhizal plants: connections between soil- and plant-based hyphae. Mycorrhiza 30, 589–600 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-020-00972-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-020-00972-w