Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are key components of soil micro-flora and obviously interact with other microorganisms in the rhizosphere which is the zone of influence of plant roots on microbial populations and other soil constituents. Keeping in view the importance of AM fungi, the present study was undertaken for assessing the AM fungal spore population dynamics in the rhizosphere soil and it...

In a greenhouse trials, the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi (AMF) on growth and uptake of N, P, K and Pb by Eucalyptus rostrata L., grown with or without Phaseolus vulgaris, in lead (Pb) contaminated soil were investigated. Inoculation of the host plants with AMF, Glomus deserticola spores, significantly increased the dry weight, shoot length, total N, P and K as well as chlorophyll con...

The mycorrhizal component of revegetated areas after ecological restoration or rehabilitation in arid and semiarid tropical areas has been scarcely assessed, particularly those made after mining disturbance. We evaluated and compared the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of a small area of restored tropical dry forest destroyed by sand extraction, with a non-restored area of similar age,...

A central challenge in global ecology is the identification of key functional processes in ecosystems that scale, but do not require, data for individual species across landscapes. Given that nearly all tree species form symbiotic relationships with one of two types of mycorrhizal fungi - arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi - and that AM- and ECM-dominated forests often ...

The identification of plant functional traits that can be linked to ecosystem processes is of wide interest, especially for predicting vegetational responses to climate change. Root diameter of the finest absorptive roots may be one plant trait that has wide significance. Do species with relatively thick absorptive roots forage in nutrient-rich patches differently from species with relatively f...

Metal mining generates a considerable amount of tailings. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have potential value for the ecological remediation tailings from metal mining, despite problems with these tailings, such as loose structure, high heavy-metal concentration and low organic matter microbial diversity. This review summarizes both application physiological functions AMF, plant symbiotic s...

The flavonoids 5,6,7,8,9-hydroxy chalcone, 3,7-hydroxy-4?methoxy flavone, 5,6,7,8-hydroxy-4?-methoxy flavone and 3,5,6,7,4?-hydroxy flavone can be detected only in non-mycorrhizal roots of white clover, but not in mycorrhizal roots, whereas the flavonoids acacetin, quercetin and rhamnetin are only present in mycorrhizal roots. We tested the effect of several concentrations of these compounds on...

Recent years have seen fascinating contributions to our understanding of the molecular dialogue between fungi and plants entering into arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses. Attention has shifted from descriptions of physiological and cellular events to molecular genetics and modern chemical diagnostics. Genes, signal transduction pathways and the chemical structures of components relevant to t...

Pollution of the soil environment with toxic materials from fossil burning, mining and smelting of metalliferous ores, disposal of sewage, fertilizers and pesticides, etc. has increased dramatically since the onset of industrial revolution. Various strategies including bioremediation and phytoremediation are employed to remove heavy metals from such soils and making them available for agricultu...

The study evaluated the response of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) species Glomus intraradices and Sinorhizobium meliloti, strain 1021 regarding the dry biomass accumulation, mycorrhizal fungi colonization, nodulation and nitrogen fixation activity. Alfalfa plants were grown in a glasshouse until the flowering stage (58 days), in 4 kg plastic pots using leached...