Relationships between root hairs and mycorrhizal fungi across typical subtropical tree species

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2022.0131

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Root hairs and mycorrhizal fungi, by increasing absorbing area of plant roots, promote ability of plants in acquiring soil resources such as phosphorus (P). The combination of absorptive roots, root hairs, and mycorrhizal fungi differs among distinct plant species, resulting in variations in acquisition of soil resources. At present, in situ quantifications of microstructures on the surface of roots is difficult, and relationships among absorptive roots, root hairs, and mycorrhizal fungi underlying the adaptation of soil P gradient in different woody plants remain largely unknown.
Methods We investigated 21 tree species in a subtropical forest and examined the existence of root hairs. We quantified the variation of root hair characteristics and analyzed the relationships between root hairs, mycorrhizal colonization rate, root traits along with soil P availability.
Important findings 1) Root hairs did not commonly exist in 21 subtropical tree species. We only observed root hairs in seven species, including four arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) trees and three ectomycorrhizal (ECM) trees. Root hair occurrence rate was highest in Pinus massoniana (86%). 2) Mycorrhizal type is key to understanding the relationships between root hairs and mycorrhizal fungi. Root hair density was significantly positively correlated with mycorrhizal fungi colonization rate in AM trees. In contrast, in ECM trees, root hair diameter was significantly negatively correlated with mycorrhizal fungi colonization rate. 3) Root hair length and diameter were negatively correlated with soil available P content in AM trees, while root hair occurrence rate decreased with the soil available P content in ECM trees. Our results improve the understanding of root hairs and their interaction with other plant traits in natural forest stands, which lay the foundation for better predictions of nutrient acquisition strategies.

Key words: root hair occurrence rate, root hair length, root hair density, root hair diameter, mycorrhizal fungi colonization rate, soil available phosphorus

ZHANG Hui, ZENG Wen-Jing, GONG Xin-Tao, MA Ze-Qing. Relationships between root hairs and mycorrhizal fungi across typical subtropical tree species[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(1): 88-100.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2022.0131

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2023/V47/I1/88

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Phylogeny and variation in traits for 21 typical subtropical tree species (mean ± SE). AM, arbuscular mycorrhiza; ECM, ectomycorrhiza. Names of tree species with root hairs are marked in blue. Root hair diameter was only shown among the seven species with root hairs.

Fig. 2 Root hairs for seven typical subtropical tree species.

Table 1 Traits of root hairs in seven typical subtropical tree species (mean ± SE)

物种 Species	菌根类型 Mycorrhizal type	根毛出现率 Root hair occurrence rate (%)	根毛密度 Root hair density (No.·mm^-1)	根毛长度 Root hair length (μm)	根毛直径 Root hair diameter (μm)
深山含笑 Michelia maudiae	AM	26.97 ± 4.16^A	12.90 ± 1.05^A	20.62 ± 1.43^A	8.32 ± 0.44^B
赤杨叶 Alniphyllum fortunei	AM	51.25 ± 0.85^B	44.30 ± 1.56^C	63.84 ± 4.52^C	10.32 ± 0.36^C
南酸枣 Choerospondias axillaris	AM	58.26 ± 1.85^BC	22.51 ± 1.07^B	36.61 ± 1.59^B	6.09 ± 0.13^A
楝 Melia azedarach	AM	70.35 ± 1.61^D	13.41 ± 1.19^A	43.78 ± 3.18^B	9.71 ± 0.24^C
麻栎 Quercus acutissima	ECM	32.93 ± 3.28^A	15.23 ± 1.00^A	34.42 ± 6.57^B	7.51 ± 0.27^B
湿地松 Pinus elliottii	ECM	61.24 ± 4.09^C	14.09 ± 0.41^A	93.18 ± 2.40^D	19.85 ± 0.34^D
马尾松 Pinus massoniana	ECM	86.27 ± 3.36^E	21.60 ± 1.25^B	161.36 ± 5.68^E	19.99 ± 0.24^D

Fig. 3 Comparisons of mycorrhizal colonization rate and absorptive fine root properties (mean ± SE) between typical subtropical tree species with and without root hairs. AM, arbuscular mycorrhiza; ECM, ectomycorrhiza. ns, p > 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001.

Table 2 Summary of root hair traits, root traits and phylogenetic signals (Blomberg’s K) for seven typical subtropical tree species

属性 Trait	最小值 Min	最大值 Max	平均数 Mean	标准误 SE	变异系数 CV (%)	Blomberg’s K
根毛出现率 Root hair occurrence rate (%)	26.97	86.30	58.26	7.79	37.25	0.29
根毛密度 Root hair density (No.·mm^-1)	12.90	44.30	20.58	4.22	54.28	0.40
根毛长度 Root hair length (μm)	20.62	161.36	64.83	18.41	75.15	0.28
根毛直径 Root hair diameter (μm)	6.09	19.99	11.68	2.19	49.70	2.67^*
根直径 Root diameter (mm)	0.15	0.54	0.29	0.05	43.10	0.66^**
比根长 Specific root length (m·g^-1)	23.02	83.00	52.76	7.35	55.06	0.47
根组织密度 Root tissue density (g·cm^-3)	0.11	0.53	0.26	0.05	53.26	0.09
菌根侵染率 Mycorrhizal colonization rate (%)	43.99	78.88	63.10	4.82	20.22	0.47

Fig. 4 Pearson correlation coefficients between root hair traits and root traits of seven typical subtropical tree species. HD, root hair diameter; MC, mycorrhizal colonization rate; RD, root diameter; RH, root hair occurrence rate; RHD, root hair density; RHL, root hair length; RTD, root tissue density; SRL, specific root length. Pearson correlation coefficients (below the diagonal) and phylogenetically independent contrasts (above the diagonal) among seven functional traits for seven root hair tree species (n = 28; *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01).

Fig. 5 Correlation between root hair occurrence rate (A), root hair density (B), root hair length (C), root hair diameter (D) and mycorrhizal colonization rate of typical subtropical tree species. AM, arbuscular mycorrhiza (4 species × 4 replicates = 16 points); ECM, ectomycorrhiza (3 species × 4 replicates = 12 points).

Fig. 6 Correlations of soil available phosphorus (P) content with root hair traits (A-D), mycorrhizal colonization rate (E) and root traits (F-H) of typical subtropical tree species. AM, arbuscular mycorrhiza; ECM, ectomycorrhiz. Relationships between root hair traits and soil available P content were based on data from seven tree species with root hairs (4 AM species × 4 replicates + 3 ECM species × 4 replicates = 28 points). Relationships between mycorrhizal colonization rate, root attributes and soil available P content were based on data of 21 typical subtropical tree species (7 tree species with root hairs × 4 replicates + 14 species without root hairs × 4 replicates = 84 points).

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