Mycorrhizal root colonization in maize fields is more affected by soil management and climate conditions than by plant genotype

• Published in: Archives of microbiology Vol. 203; no. 7; pp. 4609 - 4618
• Main Authors: Meyer, Edenilson, Betancur-Agudelo, Marcelo, Ventura, Bárbara Santos, dos Anjos, Karina Goulart, do Scarsanella, Juliana Amaral, Vieira, André Steiner, Mendes, Lucas, Stoffel, Shantau Camargo Gomes, Munarini, Anderson, Soares, Cláudio Roberto Fonseca Sousa, Lovato, Paulo Emílio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; Climatic conditions; Colonization; Corn; Diameters; Ecology; Evaluation; Farm buildings; Farms; Genetic modification; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; Greenhouses; Life Sciences; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Original Paper; Phosphorus; Soil chemistry; Soil conditions; Soil management; Soils; Symbiosis; Phosphorus; Genetically modified corn; Soil management; Arbuscular mycorrhiza
• ISSN: 0302-8933; 1432-072X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00203-021-02429-w

This work aims to characterize the arbuscular mycorrhizal association between maize genotypes and the effects of soil physical–chemical attributes on the symbiosis. A preliminary greenhouse assay evaluated five maize landraces and five conventional modern genotypes in non-sterile, low-P soil. Sixty days after sowing, we measured plant height, stem diameter, shoot and root dry biomass, root colonization structures, and shoot P concentration and total accumulation. In a second stage, a 2-year on-farm study evaluated how soil physical–chemical attributes in fields with three plant genotype groups affected the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal symbiosis in a maize diversity microcenter in Southern Brazil. We collected soil and plant material in farms growing landrace, conventional modern genotypes, or genetically modified (GM) maize. There were five collection points at each group, and we measured mycorrhizal colonization, soil physicochemical attributes, and shoot phosphorus concentration. The greenhouse study showed that genotypes have different growth strategies for root production and shoot growth. No differences in mycorrhizal colonization rates occurred among landraces and modern maize genotypes in the low-P soil. The field study showed that soil and climate conditions had a more marked effect on mycorrhizal root colonization than plant genotype groups (landrace, conventional modern genotypes, or GM maize).