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Title: Co-ordinated changes in the accumulation of metal ions in maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) in response to inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus funneliformis mosseae

Author
item FLORES-RAMIREZ, ROSARIO - Centro De Investigacion
item RELLAN-ALVAREZ, RUBEN - Centro De Investigacion
item WOZNIAK, BARBARA - University Of Lausanne
item GEBRESELASSIE, MESFIN-NIGUSSIE - University Of Lausanne
item JAKOBSEN, IVER - University Of Copenhagen
item OLALDE-PORTUGAL, VICTOR - Centro De Investigacion
item Baxter, Ivan
item PASZKOWSKI, UTA - University Of Lausanne
item SAWERS, RUAIRIDH - Centro De Investigacion

Submitted to: Plant and Cell Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/17/2017
Publication Date: 10/1/2017
Citation: Flores-Ramirez, R.M., Rellan-Alvarez, R., Wozniak, B., Gebreselassie, M., Jakobsen, I., Olalde-Portugal, V., Baxter, I.R., Paszkowski, U., Sawers, R.J. 2017. Co-ordinated changes in the accumulation of metal ions in maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) in response to inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus funneliformis mosseae. Plant And Cell Physiology. 58(10):1689-1699. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcx100.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcx100

Interpretive Summary: Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis is an ancient interaction between plants and fungi, where a fungus and the plant live in a mutually beneficial partnership. In exchange for photosynthetically fixed carbon, the fungus provides the plant host with greater access to soil nutrients via an extensive network of root-external structures, called hyphae. These interactions are hard to study because the fungi are unable to be cultured outside of the plant, and thus, relatively little is known about the effect of this symbiosis (partnership) on the physiology of the plant. To determine the impact of the symbiosis on elemental accumulation, the concentration of nineteen elements was determined in the roots and leaves of a panel of thirty maize varieties, grown with, or without, inoculation with the fungus Funneliformis mosseae. Although the most recognized benefit of the symbiosis to host plant growth is greater access to soil phosphorus, the concentration of a number of other elements responded significantly to inoculation across the panel as a whole. In addition, maize variety-specific effects indicated the importance of plant genotype to the response. Clusters of elements were identified that varied in a coordinated manner, likely indicating specific physiological responses that the different maize varieties were making. These results suggest that we can use the elemental profile to understand the interaction of plant roots with soil microbes, an approach that could be used in a wide variety of crops, including soybean and cotton.

Technical Abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis is an ancient interaction between plants and Glomeromycotan fungi. In exchange for photosynthetically fixed carbon, the fungus provides the plant host with greater access to soil nutrients via an extensive network of root-external hyphae. Here, to determine the impact of the symbiosis on the host ionome, the concentration of nineteen elements was determined in the roots and leaves of a panel of thirty maize varieties, grown with, or without, inoculation with the fungus Funneliformis mosseae. Although the most recognized benefit of the symbiosis to host plant growth is greater access to soil phosphorus, the concentration of a number of other elements responded significantly to inoculation across the panel as a whole. In addition, variety-specific effects indicated the importance of plant genotype to the response. Clusters of elements were identified that varied in a coordinated manner across genotypes, and that were maintained between non-inoculated and inoculated plants, even if the response itself varied in different varieties.