Tolerance of Mycorrhiza infected pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) seedling to drought stress under glasshouse conditions.

The influence of Glomus etunicatum colonization on plant growth and drought tolerance of 3-month-old Pistacia vera seedlings in potted culture was studied in two different water treatments. The arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) inoculation and plant growth (including plant shoot and root weight, leaf area, and total chlorophyll) were higher for well-watered than for water-stressed plants. The growth of AM-treated seedlings was higher than non-AM-treatment regardless of water status. P, K, Zn and Cu contents in AM-treated shoots were greater than those in non-AM shoots under well-watered conditions and drought stress. N and Ca content were higher under drought stress, while AM symbiosis did not affect the Mg content. The contents of soluble sugars, proteins, flavonoid and proline were higher in mycorrhizal than non-mycorrhizal-treated plants under the whole water regime. AM colonization increased the activities of peroxidase enzyme in treatments, but did not affect the catalase activity in shoots and roots under well-watered conditions and drought stress. We conclude that AM colonization improved the drought tolerance of P. vera seedlings by increasing the accumulation of osmotic adjustment compounds, nutritional and antioxidant enzyme activity. It appears that AM formation enhanced the drought tolerance of pistachio plants, which increased host biomass and plant growth.

Abbaspour H ，Saeidi-Sar S ，Afshari H ，Abdel-Wahhab MA ... -  《-》

Aquaporin gene expression and physiological responses of Robinia pseudoacacia L. to the mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis and drought stress.

He F ，Zhang H ，Tang M 《-》

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence growth, osmotic adjustment and photosynthesis of citrus under well-watered and water stress conditions.

Wu QS ，Xia RX 《JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY》

Azospirillum and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization enhance rice growth and physiological traits under well-watered and drought conditions.

The response of rice plants to inoculation with an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus, Azospirillum brasilense, or combination of both microorganisms, was assayed under well-watered or drought stress conditions. Water deficit treatment was imposed by reducing the amount of water added, but AM plants, with a significantly higher biomass, received the same amount of water as non-AM plants, with a poor biomass. Thus, the water stress treatment was more severe for AM plants than for non-AM plants. The results showed that AM colonization significantly enhanced rice growth under both water conditions, although the greatest rice development was reached in plants dually inoculated under well-watered conditions. Water level did not affect the efficiency of photosystem II, but both AM and A. brasilense inoculations increased this value. AM colonization increased stomatal conductance, particularly when associated with A. brasilense, which enhanced this parameter by 80% under drought conditions and by 35% under well-watered conditions as compared to single AM plants. Exposure of AM rice to drought stress decreased the high levels of glutathione that AM plants exhibited under well-watered conditions, while drought had no effect on the ascorbate content. The decrease of glutathione content in AM plants under drought stress conditions led to enhance lipid peroxidation. On the other hand, inoculation with the AM fungus itself increased ascorbate and proline as protective compounds to cope with the harmful effects of water limitation. Inoculation with A. brasilense also enhanced ascorbate accumulation, reaching a similar level as in AM plants. These results showed that, in spite of the fact that drought stress imposed by AM treatments was considerably more severe than non-AM treatments, rice plants benefited not only from the AM symbiosis but also from A. brasilense root colonization, regardless of the watering level. However, the beneficial effects of A. brasilense on most of the physiological and biochemical traits of rice plants were only clearly visible when the plants were mycorrhized. This microbial consortium was effective for rice plants as an acceptable and ecofriendly technology to improve plant performance and development.

Ruíz-Sánchez M ，Armada E ，Muñoz Y ，García de Salamone IE ，Aroca R ，Ruíz-Lozano JM ，Azcón R ... -  《-》

Alleviation of salt stress in citrus seedlings inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi depends on the rootstock salt tolerance.

Seedlings of Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reshni Hort. ex Tan.) and Alemow (Citrus macrophylla Wester) were inoculated with a mixture of AM fungi (Rhizophagus irregularis and Funneliformis mosseae) (+AM), or left non-inoculated (-AM). From forty-five days after fungal inoculation onwards, half of +AM or -AM plants were irrigated with nutrient solution containing 50 mM NaCl. Three months later, AM significantly increased plant growth in both Cleopatra mandarin and Alemow rootstocks. Plant growth was higher in salinized +AM plants than in non-salinized -AM plants, demonstrating that AM compensates the growth limitations imposed by salinity. Whereas AM-inoculated Cleopatra mandarin seedlings had a very good response under saline treatment, inoculation in Alemow did not alleviate the negative effect of salinity. The beneficial effect of mycorrhization is unrelated with protection against the uptake of Na or Cl and the effect of AM on these ions did not explain the different response of rootstocks. This response was related with the nutritional status since our findings confirm that AM fungi can alter host responses to salinity stress, improving more the P, K, Fe and Cu plant nutrition in Cleopatra mandarin than in Alemow plants. AM inoculation under saline treatments also increased root Mg concentration but it was higher in Cleopatra mandarin than in Alemow. This could explain why AM fungus did not completely recovered chlorophyll concentrations in Alemow and consequently it had lower photosynthesis rate than control plants. AM fungi play an essential role in citrus rootstock growth and biomass production although the intensity of this response depends on the rootstock salinity tolerance.

Navarro JM ，Pérez-Tornero O ，Morte A 《-》