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Inoculation of drought-stressed strawberry with a mixed inoculum of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: effects on population dynamics of fungal species in roots and consequential plant tolerance to water deficiency

Boyer, Louisa Robinson, Brain, Philip, Xu, Xiang-Ming, Jeffries, Peter (2015) Inoculation of drought-stressed strawberry with a mixed inoculum of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: effects on population dynamics of fungal species in roots and consequential plant tolerance to water deficiency. Mycorrhiza, 25 (3). pp. 215-227. ISSN 0940-6360. (doi:10.1007/s00572-014-0603-6) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:47712)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00572-014-0603-6

Abstract

The effect of inoculation with two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on growth and drought tolerance of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) was studied. Three treatments (a single treatment either of Funneliformis mosseae BEG25, Funneliformis geosporus BEG11 or a 50:50 mixed inoculation treatment of both species) were compared to uninoculated plants. Species-specific primers for qPCR quantification of F. geosporus and F. mosseae DNA were developed to quantify the relative abundance of each fungus in roots of strawberry under different conditions of water stress. Co-occupation of the same root by both species was shown to commonly occur, but their relative abundance varied with water stress (reduced irrigation of up to 40 %). Greater root colonisation was observed microscopically under water stress, but this increased colonisation was often accompanied with decreased amounts of fungal DNA in the root. F. mosseae tended to become more abundant under water stress relative to F. geosporus. There was significant correlation in the fungal colonisation measurements from the microscopic and qPCR methods under some conditions, but the nature of this relationship varied greatly with AMF inoculum and abiotic conditions. Single-species inoculation treatments gave similar benefits to the host to the mixed inoculation treatment regardless of irrigation regime; here, amount of colonisation was of greater importance than functional diversity. The addition of AMF inocula to plants subjected to reduced irrigation restored plant growth to the same or higher values as the non-mycorrhizal, fully-watered plants. The water use efficiency of plants was greater under the regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) regime and in AMF-inoculated plants, but there were no significant differences between plants inoculated with the single or combined inoculum. This study demonstrated that the increase in plant growth was directly influenced by an increase in root colonisation by AMF when individual plants were examined.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s00572-014-0603-6
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Biosciences
Depositing User: Susan Davies
Date Deposited: 17 Mar 2015 15:22 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/47712 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Jeffries, Peter.

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