Additional AM Fungi Inoculation Increase Populus cathayana Intersexual Competition

• Published in: Frontiers in plant science Vol. 9; p. 607
• Main Authors: Wu, Qiuping, Tang, Yun, Dong, Tingfa, Liao, Yongmei, Li, Dadong, He, Xinhua, Xu, Xiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 08-05-2018
• Subjects: AM fungi; carbon isotope composition; Funneliformis mosseae; intersexual competition; Plant Science; Populus cathayana; root anatomy; intersexual competition; Funneliformis mosseae; Populus cathayana; carbon isotope composition; AM fungi; root anatomy
• ISSN: 1664-462X; 1664-462X
• DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00607

Sex-specific responses to mycorrhiza have been reported in dioecious plant species, but little attention has been paid to the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on competitive ability under intersexual competition. To further address whether this competition is affected by an additional AM fungi supply,
saplings were chosen and subjected to two mycorrhizal treatments [inoculated and non-inoculated (control) with an additional AM fungi
] while growing with the opposite sex for 3 months. Compared with the control, the additional AM fungi inoculation induced
.
saplings to exhibit significant sexual differences in root structure and nutrient uptake (e.g., cortical layer, cross-section area, radius of root tips, and N, K, and Mg content), and enlarged sexual differences in morphology and biomass accumulation (e.g., leaf number increment, shoot height increment, total leaf area, total specific root length, stem dry mass, leaf dry mass, and total dry mass). Meanwhile, inoculated females presented higher values in most of these traits mentioned above than males under intersexual competition. Therefore, we conclude that the intersexual competition can be increased by an additional AM fungi supply, with females gaining more symbiosis-mediated benefits than males.