Large fraction of mineral nutrients in natural soil environments is recycled from complex and heterogeneously distributed organic sources. These sources are explored by both roots and associated mycorrhizal fungi. However, the mechanisms behind the responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) hyphal networks to soil organic patches of different qualities remain little understood. Therefore, we cond...

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...

ABSTRACT: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase the acquisition of silicon (Si) and, therefore, alleviate problems caused by metallic toxicity in plants, but this effect remains poorly understood. The objective was to evaluate influence Si application on growth Leucaena leucocephala inoculated with AMF (Claroideoglomus etunicatum) a soil contaminated manganese (Mn). We exposed plants ...

UNLABELLED Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form mutualisms with plant roots that increase plant growth and shape plant communities. Each AM fungal cell contains a large amount of genetic diversity, but it is unclear if this diversity varies across evolutionary lineages. We found that sequence variation in the nuclear large-subunit (LSU) rRNA gene from 29 isolates representing 21 AM fungal spe...

Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense) is a perennial shrub plant mainly cultivated in Ecuador, Colombia, and Central America where it represents an important cash crop. Current cultivation practices not only cause deforestation and large-scale soil degradation but also make plants highly susceptible to pests and diseases. The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can offer a possibility to overcom...

Symbiosis, defined as prolonged and close association of two or more different organisms, is a major driving force for expansion of biological diversity from genes to ecosystems. In the most intimate form, the symbiont lives inside the cells of its host, is heritable, and the two parties could no longer survive independently. Such heritable endosymbiosis blurs the line of what constitutes an in...