Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Association in Plants Growing on Metal-Contaminated and Noncontaminated Soils Adjoining Kanpur Tanneries, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Commonly occurring plant species on metal-contaminated soils and noncontaminated soils adjoining Kanpur Tanneries, Uttar Pradesh, India were surveyed for arbuscular mycorrhizal association. In the present study, pH, electric conductivity (E.C.), organic carbon, macronutrients (available phosphorus, available potassium), micronutrients (Cu and Zn), and toxic metals (Cr, Cd, Pb) were higher in metal-contaminated site compared to noncontaminated site. These factors were also significantly different between metal-contaminated and noncontaminated soils. High E.C. along with toxic concentrations of metals like Cr, Cd, and Pb may have acted as selection pressure for vegetation cover, making the metal-contaminated site hostile for cultivation purpose. The study recorded Arum type of arbuscular mycorrhiza. The highest mean total root colonization levels in metal-contaminated and noncontaminated soils were 100% (Parthenium sp.) and 34.16% (Parthenium sp.), respectively. Maximum mean spore density in metal-contaminated and noncontaminated soils was 19 spores rhizosphere soil −1 (Parthenium sp.) and nine spores rhizosphere soil −1 (Desmostachya bipinnata and Cynodon sp.), respectively. Studies revealed that for a particular plant species, the root colonization levels and spore density (except Cynodon sp.) were higher in contaminated soil compared to noncontaminated soils. A total of six species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi belonging to two genera viz., Glomus and Scutellospora were recovered during the study. Species richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi was maximum in the noncontaminated site compared to the metalcontaminated site. This result suggests that continuous exposure of plants and associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to heavy metals can result in tolerant species which can be used for phytoremediation.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis in viticulture: a review

“…AMF inoculation has become a prospective tool for enhancing plant tolerance to environmental stress conditions in metal-contaminated soils. Many examples from the literature illustrate this role of arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis, but progress towards understanding the cellular mechanisms utilized by AMF to metabolize heavy metals and alleviate their cytotoxicity has been made only recently (Lanfranco 2002), and the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood (Khade and Alok 2009). For example, the occurrence of AMF in Nihyperaccumulating plant species naturally found on metalrich soils offers possibilities of using heavy metal-hyperaccumulating plants together with AMF for phytoremediation strategies (Göhre and Paszkowski 2006).…”

Metal uptake, oxidative metabolism, and mycorrhization in pigeonpeaand pea under arsenic and cadmium stress

“…The importance of AM fungi relies on their capacity to increase water and nutrient uptake, mainly uptake of P, in low-fertility soils (Schneider et al, 2013). A number of AM fungi like Glomus, Gigaspora, and Entrophospora inhabit metal-contaminated soils, among which Glomus species are the most common (Khade and Adholeya, 2009), indicating their HM tolerance (Vallino et al, 2006;Kapoor and Bhatnagar, 2007;Upadhyaya et al, 2010;Bona et al, 2011). Because of the dominance of Funneliformis mosseae in metal-polluted soils, its association with crop plants can be highly useful in conferring metal tolerance (Repetto et al, 2007;Andrade et al, 2008;Garg and Chandel, 2012).…”

Synergistic effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and phosphate rock on heavy metal uptake and accumulation by an arsenic hyperaccumulator

“…It has been indicated that AM fungi can colonize plant roots in metal contaminated soil [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] and it has been commonly observed that AM fungi increases shoot uptake of metals [24][25] in severely contaminated soils. In addition, AM fungi could protect plants against harmful effects of metals [26] and respond to water deficit at morphological, anatomical and cellular levels with modifications.…”