The mycorrhizal root‐shoot axis elicits Coffea arabica growth under low phosphate conditions

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most traded commodities world-wide. As with 70% of land plants, coffee is associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, but the molecular bases of this interaction are unknown.We studied the mycorrhizal phenotype of two commercially important Coffea arabica cultivars ('Typica National' and 'Catimor Amarillo'), upon Funnelliformis mosseae colonisation grown under phosphorus limitation, using an integrated functional approach based on multiomics, physiology and biochemistry.The two cultivars revealed a strong biomass increase upon mycorrhization, even at low level of fungal colonisation, improving photosynthetic efficiency and plant nutrition. The more important iconic markers of AM symbiosis were activated: We detected two gene copies of AM-inducible phosphate (Pt4), ammonium (AM2) and nitrate (NPF4.5) transporters, which were identified as belonging to the C. arabica parental species (C. canephora and C. eugenioides) with both copies being upregulated. Transcriptomics data were confirmed by ions and metabolomics analyses, which highlighted an increased amount of glucose, fructose and flavonoid glycosides.In conclusion, both coffee cultivars revealed a high responsiveness to the AM fungus along their root-shoot axis, showing a clear-cut re-organisation of the major metabolic pathways, which involve nutrient acquisition, carbon fixation, and primary and secondary metabolism.

Carbon stocks in coffee farms and secondary forest systems in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest

“…The larger population of coffee plants present in the coffee system without shade trees probably favors a symbiotic association between coffee plants and AMF, promoting favorable living habitats for the survival and massive multiplication of AMF spores (Vallejos-Torres et al 2022). As response to mycorrhization, coffee plants show a clear reorganization of the main metabolic pathways, which involve nutrient acquisition, carbon xation, and primary and secondary metabolism, particularly under low phosphorus conditions (Chialva et al 2023). This makes coffee a highly mycotrophic plant (Hernández-Acosta et al 2021).…”

A journey into the world of small RNAs in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

“…Although fungal growth is restricted to roots, AM colonization also leads to metabolic and physiological changes at the systemic level, according to the occurrence of a root‐shoot axis influencing multiple aspects of plant biology including nutrition, development and responses to (a)biotic stresses (Fiorilli et al ., 2018; Chialva et al ., 2023).…”