%0 Journal Article %A Yuan WEI %A Shi-Jie WANG %A Xiu-Ming LIU %A Tian-Zhi HUANG %T Genetic diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in karst microhabitats of Guizhou Province, China %D 2011 %R 10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.01083 %J Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology %P 1083-1090 %V 35 %N 10 %X

Aims Our objective was to explore the genetic diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in karst microhabitat.
Methods We used nested polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to study the genetic characteristics of AMF sampled from microhabitats of three different vegetation types in Maolan National Nature Reserve of Guizhou Province.
Important findings The AMF genetic diversities in all three microhabitat types were rich. The highest values of biodiversity index (4.06) and species abundance (68) were found in the shrubland soil surface, and the lowest values (3.16 and 29, respectively) were found in the secondary forest rocky crevice. The average values of biodiversity index and species abundance of the 9 microhabitats studied were 3.67 and 48, respectively. These were much higher than those in some other areas; the possible reasons were the complex karst ecological system structure and high plant species diversity. The AMF genetic diversity of different microhabitat types showed significant differences. The highest similarity index was only 0.45, and this means the spatial heterogeneity of different microhabitat types had significant influence on AMF genetic diversity. Glomus was the dominant genus through the karst area and should be a candidate for screening high ecological restoration strains for karst areas.

%U https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.01083