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A comparison of arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal Eucalyptus coccifera: growth response, phosphorus uptake efficiency and external hyphal production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1998

MELANIE D. JONES
Affiliation:
Plant Mycorrhizal Unit, Natural Environment Research Council, Department of Plant Sciences, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PF, UK Present address: Department of Biology, Okanagan University College, 3333 College Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
D. M. DURALL
Affiliation:
Plant Mycorrhizal Unit, Natural Environment Research Council, Department of Plant Sciences, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PF, UK
P. B. TINKER
Affiliation:
Terrestrial and Freshwater Science Directorate, Natural Environment Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1EU, UK Present address: Department of Plant Sciences, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
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Abstract

Eucalyptus coccifera Hook., a plant capable of forming both arbuscular mycorrhizas and ectomycorrhizas, was used to compare the effects of the two mycorrhizal types on phosphorus uptake and C allocation. Seedlings were grown in a P-deficient soil/sand mixture inoculated with peat/vermiculite spawn of Laccaria bicolor (Maire) Orton or Thelephora terrestris (Ehrh.) Fr.; or with 250-μm sievings from leek colonized by Glomus caledonium (Nicol. & Gerd.) Trappe & Gerde., Glomus sp. type E3 or Glomus mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerd. & Trappe or with autoclaved spawn (non-mycorrhizal control). Before the 89-d harvest, a subset of the harvested plants was labelled with 14C (45–60-min pulse, 202-h chase). Growth promotion and the increase in seedling P content was largest in the two ectomycorrhizal treatments. Production of fluorescein diacetate-stained external hyphae was three to seven times higher by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi compared with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and was highly correlated with P uptake and shoot weight. Phosphorus inflow rates of ECM and AM seedlings were 3·8 times, and 2·0–2·7 times those of non-mycorrhizal seedlings. Phosphorus acquisition efficiencies were similar (11·2 and 10·0 μmol P mmol−1C for T. terrestris and Glomus E3 plants, respectively) for the two mycorrhizal types, and appeared to be greater than in uninoculated plants (7.2 μmol P mmol−1C) grown at the same P level.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Trustees of New Phytologist 1998

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