Plant size influences mycorrhizal colonization of <i>Polemonium foliosissimum</i>
Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the relationship between the different genders of the gynodioecious species P. foliosissimum and their mycorrhizal associates. Mcyorrhizal colonization of roots was quantified, and soil and plant tissue analyses were performed. Further, a full factorial clipping experiment was conducted in which plants of both genders were reduced in size by approximately one half in order to stress the associations by reducing the potential carbon assimilation available to be exchanged with the fungal partner. Colonization of roots of plants involved in the experiment was then quantified and plant tissue analysis will be performed. Gender did not influence overall mycorrhizal colonization or proportional colonization of mycorrhizal structures within roots; however, soil and plant tissue analyses indicate that females may be extracting higher amounts of nutrients from the soil than hermaphrodites, in particular magnesium, though this difference could not be attributed to a mycorrhizal benefit in this study. Futher, the size of the plant host (# of stems) was found to significantly influence mycorrhizal colonization prior to and subsequent to the clipping treatment and proportional colonization by mycorrhizal vesicles increased significantly in plants subject to the clipping treatment. It is suggested that a size-specific relationship exists between P. foliosissimum and it’s mycorrhizal symbionts and that when under stress, the mycorrhizal associates reallocate assimilated carbon to storage structures.
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References (24)
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