Mycorrhizae influence plant vegetative and floral traits and intraspecific trait variation

Abstract

Premise: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can strongly influence host plant vegetative growth, but less is known about AMF effects on other plant traits, the relative impacts of AMF on vegetative growth versus floral traits, or AMF-induced intraspecific variation in traits. Methods: In an experimental greenhouse study, we inoculated seven species of wildflowers with six species of AMF in a factorial design. We assessed how the AMF-forb combinations influenced plant survival, vegetative biomass, and floral traits and whether AMF effects on floral traits were similar in magnitude and direction to effects on vegetative biomass. For one forb species, we investigated intraspecific plant trait variation within and across AMF treatments. Results: AMF species varied from negative to positive in their effects on host plants. AMF often had inconsistent effects on vegetative biomass versus floral traits, and therefore, quantifying one or the other may provide a misleading representation of potential AMF effects. AMF treatments generated key variation in plant traits, especially floral traits, with potential consequences for plant-pollinator interactions. Given increased intraspecific trait variation in Linum lewisii plants across AMF species compared to uninoculated individuals or single AMF treatments, local AMF diversity and their host plant associations may scale up to influence community-wide patterns of trait variation and species interactions. Conclusions: These results have implications for predicting how aboveground communities are affected by belowground communities. Including AMF effects on not just host plant biomass but also functional traits and trait variation will deepen our understanding of community structure and function, including pollination.

Biochemical characterization and mycorrhizal fungal community of plant species in the Brazilian seasonal dry forest

“…Other studies considering C. madagascariensis have reported that this IAPS may improve soil fertility as described in the “island of fertility” hypothesis [1, 29]. Our results agree with two previous hypotheses about: (i) “changed‐habitat” as influenced by the biological invasion promoted by C. madagascariensis [5]; and (i) “plant‐host pairing specificity” since we have found exclusive AMF species for both studied ecosystems [7, 8, 31]. According to the study done by Souza et al [5], C. madagascariensis tends to promote the abundance of Claroideoglomus , Funneliformis , and Rhizoglomus in their rhizosphere.…”

Sex, sexes, sex roles, and gender in land plants

“…Of course, notions and vocabulary that betray unacceptable and, indeed, “unscientific” preconceptions, implications, or conclusions (e.g., in the domain of eugenics), should very much be rejected—but I do not think that “gender” in plants is one of them. In continuing to use gender as a useful notion in studying plant reproductive strategies, it would still pay to be sensitive to the potential obstacles for understanding that resonance with societal use might pose (Oberle and Fairchild, 2023).…”

“…Ironically, in apparent “sympathy with the ideas and goals of feminism” (Haig, 2000), biologists have increasingly used the word gender as a simple synonym for sex . This trend has been criticized, with the suggestion that we desist from using gender in the specific context of plant sexuality, both in deference to the feminist cause and because the word has come to have meanings that might compromise our communication and teaching (Oberle and Fairchild, 2023).…”

On the meaning and use of “gender” and “sex” in plant biology

“…The “On the Nature of Things” (“OTNOT”) essay by Oberle and Fairchild (2023) provides a brief history of the uses of the term gender in the botanical literature, which emphasize the continuous nature of sporophyte sexual function, and its uses in the social sciences, which view gender as a classification of human individuals determined by self‐identity, experience, and social context. They argue that use of the term gender in reference to plants should be avoided and that, in particular, instruction in the biological sciences should aim for inclusive language.…”