Establishing a Symbiotic Interface between Cultured Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Plants to Follow Fungal Phosphate Metabolism

• Published in: Bio-protocol Vol. 7; no. 20; p. e2577
• Main Authors: Becquer, Adeline, Torres-Aquino, Margarita, Guernevé, Christine Le, Amenc, Laurie K, Trives-Segura, Carlos, Staunton, Siobhan, Quiquampoix, Hervé, Plassard, Claude
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Bio-protocol LCC 20.10.2017; Bio-Protocol; Bio-protocol LLC
• Subjects: Biology; Biotechnology; Life Sciences; Methods; Vegetal Biology; Pinus pinaster; Hebeloma cylindrosporum; In vitro symbiotic interface; 32Phosphate efflux measurement; Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis; pinus pinaster; dispositif de mesure; champignon ectomycorhizien; efflux; hebeloma cylindrosporum; maritime pine; nutrition phosphorée
• ISSN: 2331-8325; 2331-8325
• DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.2577

In ectomycorrhizal plants, the fungal cells colonize the roots of their host plant to create new organs called ectomycorrhizae. In these new organs, the fungal cells colonize the walls of the cortical cells, bathing in the same apoplasm as the plant cells in a space named the 'Hartig net', where exchanges between the two partners take place. Finally, the efficiency of ectomycorrhizal fungi to improve the phosphorus nutrition of their host plants will depend on the regulation of phosphate transfer from the fungal cells to plant cells in the Hartig net through as yet unknown mechanisms. In order to investigate these mechanisms, we developed an experimental device mimicking the common apoplasm of the ectomycorrhizae (the Hartig net) to study the phosphorus metabolism in the ectomycorrhizal fungus when the fungal cells are associated or not with the plant cells of the host plant . This device can be used to monitor Phosphate efflux from the fungus previously incubated with P-orthophosphate.