BACKGROUND Soybean red crown rot is a major soil-borne disease all over the world, which severely affects soybean production. Efficient and sustainable methods are strongly desired to control the soil-borne diseases. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We firstly investigated the disease incidence and index of soybean red crown rot under different phosphorus (P) additions in field and found that the natural i...

As a crucial reciprocal partner, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can alleviate the negative effects of a variety of pollutants on their hosts and soil microbes. In our previous studies, such characteristics of AMF on plant growth were documented in response to metal engineered nanoparticle (ENP) treatments. However, the role of AMF in influencing ENP effects on soil microbes remains a matter...

Mycorrhizal inoculation stimulates growth, photosynthesis and nutrient uptake in a wide range of host plants. However, the ultimate effects of arbuscular mycorrhyzal (AM) symbiosis vary with the plants and fungal species involved in the association. Therefore, identification of the appropriate combinations of AM fungi (AMF) that interact synergistically to improve their benefits is of high sign...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are root-inhabiting fungi that form mutualistic symbioses with their host plants. AMF symbiosis improves nutrient uptake and buffers the plant against a diversity of stresses. Rhizophagus irregularis is one of the most widespread AMF species in the world, and its application in agricultural systems for yield improvement has increased over the last years. Still...

During the study on endophytic fungi of stone fruits including apricot, peach and nectarine in W Azarbaijan (NW Iran), a large number of isolates with Alternaria characteristics were isolated from different parts of these plants and studied taxonomically. Isolation was made based on endophytic fungal isolation method and following surface sterilization procedure. From 100 different plant sample...

The population ecology of clonal plants depends on the number and distribution of ramets formed during growth. Variation in clonal reproduction has previously been explained by variation in effects of abiotic resource heterogeneity and by plant genotypic variation. Different co-occurring species of the mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been shown to differentially alter growth...

The water regime affects a wide variety of physiological and biochemical processes in plants including an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) capable of causing oxidative damage to proteins, DNA and lipids. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonize a wide range of plant species though the ability of different AMF species to promote host growth or contribute to plant water de...

While plants can phytoremediate soils that are contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, adding microbes to remediate contaminated sites with petroleum-degrading microorganisms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is not well understood. The phytoremediation of Arabian medium crude oil (ACO) was done with a Lolium multiflorum system inoculated with an AMF (Glomus intraradices) and a mixture o...

A considerable amount of phenotypic, genetic and symbiotic functional variability has been documented in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However, little is known about whether distinct AMF ecotypes have evolved within their geographic range. We tested the hypothesis that AMF growing at temperatures closer to those prevalent within their origin would benefit their host and grow more than iso...