Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the root growth of male and female Populus cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2018.0261

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Accumulating evidence suggests that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can promote the growth of plant roots. However, the effects of AMF on the root growth of dioecious plants, particularly those grown under different sexual combination patterns, remain largely unknown, this study therefore aimed at improving our understanding of the roles of AMF in these systems.
Methods In the present study, homogenized soil (river sand:surface soil:vermiculite = 1:1:1, volume ratio) was used as growth substrate. The Populus cathayana saplings uninoculated and inoculated with AMF under three sex combination patterns (male vs. male, MM; female vs. female, FF; male vs. female, MF) were defined as control (CK) and AMF treatment group, respectively. Subsequently, we compared the differences in colonization rate, root dry mass, root morphology, carbon (C) content and nitrogen (N) content between CK and AMF treatments under different sexual combination patterns.
Important findings Our results indicated that colonization rate, root dry mass, root morphology (except root branching intensity, specific root surface area) and C, N content were remarkably altered upon inoculation with AMF in comparison to uninoculated controls. Furthermore, the sexual combination patterns were shown to significantly affect root dry mass, root morphology and C, N content of male and female P. cathayana. After inoculation with AMF, root dry mass, root morphology and N content of female individuals were increased whereas these parameters of males were decreased or slightly increased in inter-sexual groups compared with the respective intra-sexual groups. Collectively, our data demonstrate the growth-promoting effects of AMF on the roots of P. cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns, and such beneficial effects are most pronounced in females grown under inter-sexual combination patterns.

Key words: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Populus cathayana, dioecious, cultivation pattern, root growth

GAO Wen-Tong, ZHANG Chun-Yan, DONG Ting-Fa, XU Xiao. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the root growth of male and female Populus cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2019, 43(1): 37-45.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of mixed-sexes plantation designs, each with two seedlings.

Fig. 2 Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the colonization rate and root dry mass of male and female Populus cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns (mean ± SE, n = 7). Different lowercase letters above the columns represent significant differences between corresponding treatments according to Duncan’s multiple range test (p < 0.05). C, combination pattern effect; I, inoculation effect; C × I, combination pattern and inoculation interaction effect. ns, not significant; ***, p < 0.001. MM/M, males in the intra-sexual combination; FF/F, females in the intra-sexual combination; MF/M, males in the inter-sexual combination; MF/F, females in the inter-sexual combination.

Table 1 Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the root morphology of male and female Populus cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns (mean ± SE, n = 7)

组别 Group	组合 Combination pattern	分枝强度 Root branching intensity (× 10²)	比表面积 Specific root surface area (× 10²)	比根长 Specific root length (× 10³)	总根长 Total root length (cm × 10³)	根尖数 Root tips number (× 10³)
对照 Control	雄雄/雄 MM/M	5.01 ± 0.34^b	3.49 ± 0.49^ab	5.97 ± 0.49^b	25.58 ± 2.23^ef	20.97 ± 1.69^cd
	雌雌/雌 FF/F	4.26 ± 0.37^b	2.99 ± 0.24^bc	4.58 ± 0.34^cd	33.08 ± 2.39^de	19.09 ± 1.84^d
	雄雌/雄 MF/M	7.81 ± 0.52^a	1.75 ± 0.27^d	3.80 ± 0.28^d	14.81 ± 1.25^f	17.71 ± 1.37^d
	雄雌/雌 MF/F	7.83 ± 0.29^a	2.70 ± 0.44^c	5.04 ± 0.54^bcd	42.46 ± 4.38^cd	18.33 ± 1.50^d
AMF	雄雄/雄 MM/M	4.46 ± 0.30^b	2.14 ± 0.20^cd	4.09 ± 0.18^d	58.47 ± 4.25^c	25.66 ± 1.27^c
	雌雌/雌 FF/F	4.83 ± 0.34^b	3.28 ± 0.16^ab	5.67 ± 0.48^bc	105.30 ± 9.82^b	38.47 ± 1.75^b
	雄雌/雄 MF/M	6.70 ± 0.53^a	2.89 ± 0.20^bc	4.99 ± 0.43^bcd	55.88 ± 5.66^c	25.95 ± 1.51^c
	雄雌/雌 MF/F	6.88 ± 0.31^a	3.99 ± 0.31^a	7.29 ± 0.52^a	137.96 ± 8.17^a	51.88 ± 3.42^a
p > F_I		0.069^ns	0.126^ns	0.033^*	<0.001^***	<0.001^***
p > F_C		<0.001^***	0.011^*	0.002^**	<0.001^***	<0.001^***
p > F_C×I		0.142^ns	<0.001^***	<0.001^***	<0.001^***	<0.001^***

Fig. 3 Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the root system architecture of male and female Populus cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns. MM/M, males in the intra-sexual combination; FF/F, females in the intra-sexual combination; MF/M, males in the inter-sexual combination; MF/F, females in the inter-sexual combination.

Fig. 4 Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the C content and N content in roots of male and female Populus cathayana individuals grown under different sexual combination patterns (mean ± SE, n = 7). Different lowercase letters above the columns represent significant differences between corresponding treatments according to Duncan’s multiple range test (p < 0.05). C, combination pattern effect; I, inoculation effect; C × I, combination pattern and inoculation interaction effect. ns, not significant; ***, p < 0.001. MM/M, males in the intra-sexual combination; FF/F, females in the intra-sexual combination; MF/M, males in the inter-sexual combination; MF/F, females in the inter-sexual combination.

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