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Temporal dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonizing roots of representative shrub species in a semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystem

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Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis plays an important role in improving plant fitness and soil quality, particularly in fragile and stressed environments, as those in certain areas of Mediterranean ecosystems. AM fungal communities are usually affected by dynamic factors such as the plant community structure and composition, which in turn are imposed by seasonality. For this reason, a one-year-round time-course trial was performed by sampling the root system of two representative shrubland species (Rosmarinus officinalis and Thymus zygis) within a typical Mediterranean ecosystem from the Southeast of Spain. The 18S rDNA gene, of the AM fungal community in roots, was subjected to PCR–SSCP, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis. Forty-three different AM fungal sequence types were found which clustered in 16 phylotypes: 14 belonged to the Glomeraceae and two to the Diversisporaceae. Surprisingly, only two of these phylotypes were related with sequences of morphologically defined species: Glomus intraradices and Glomus constrictum. Significant differences were detected for the relative abundance of some phylotypes while no effects were found for the calculated diversity indices. These results may help to design efficient mycorrhizal-based revegetation programs for this type of ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Spanish CICyT project REN2003-968. We are also grateful for support from the Spanish National Research Program (R & D + i)-European Union (Feder) CGL2009-08825/BOS; and from the Andalusian (Spain) Autonomic Government, PAIDI (R & D + i) Programme: P07-CVI-02952. Iván Sánchez-Castro was supported by a fellowship from the Andalusian Autonomic Government.

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  1. Departamento de Microbiología del Suelo y Sistemas Simbióticos, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008, Granada, Spain

    Iván Sánchez-Castro, Nuria Ferrol & José-Miguel Barea

  2. Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus, Universidad de La Frontera, P.O. Box 54-D, Avenida Francisco Salazar, 01145, Temuco, Chile

    Pablo Cornejo

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  1. Iván Sánchez-Castro
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Correspondence to Iván Sánchez-Castro.

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Sánchez-Castro, I., Ferrol, N., Cornejo, P. et al. Temporal dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonizing roots of representative shrub species in a semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystem. Mycorrhiza 22, 449–460 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-011-0421-z

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