Interactive Impact of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Elevated CO2 on Growth and Functional Food Value of Thymus vulgare

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and elevated CO2 (eCO2) have been effectively integrated to the agricultural procedures as an ecofriendly approach to support the production and quality of plants. However, less attention has been given to the synchronous application of AMF and eCO2 and how that could affect the global plant metabolism. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of AMF and eCO2, individually or in combination, on growth, photosynthesis, metabolism and the functional food value of Thymus vulgare. Results revealed that both AMF and eCO2 treatments improved the photosynthesis and biomass production, however much more positive impact was obtained by their synchronous application. Moreover, the levels of the majority of the detected sugars, organic acids, amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, volatile compounds, phenolic acids and flavonoids were further improved as a result of the synergistic action of AMF and eCO2, as compared to the individual treatments. Overall, this study clearly shows that co-application of AMF and eCO2 induces a synergistic biofertilization impact and enhances the functional food value of T. vulgare by affecting its global metabolism.

Arbuscular Mycorrhization Enhances Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium Accumulation in Vicia faba by Modulating Soil Nutrient Balance under Elevated CO2

“…Our results showed that shoot P and K concentrations were significantly decreased under 550/610 ppm eCO 2 for both non-AMF and AMF faba beans ( Figure 1 C,D). Moreover, a significantly negative linear correlation between shoot dry biomass and P or K concentrations (R 2 = 0.55–0.85, P < 0.05, Figure 5 G,J) was observed, suggesting that P or K concentrations were diluted by the increased shoot biomass production and such dilution effect also occurred in various C 3 plants under varied eCO 2 [ 15 , 19 ]. In addition, lower stomatal conductance and transpiration rates under eCO 2 might limit the transpiration-driven mass flow of nutrients through soil to root, thereby lowering the absorption of N, P, K, calcium, magnesium, and sulphur [ 45 , 61 , 62 ].…”

“…Meanwhile, AMF takes up and transfers significant amounts of N and P to the host plant, which improves plant growth, nutrient absorption, and water-use efficiency [ 18 ]. Numerous studies have shown that eCO 2 exhibited a significant positive effect on C 3 plants because of stimulated photosynthetic C assimilation, which increases the photosynthates transfer to roots of mycorrhizal plants, supporting symbiotic association [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. In turn, the formation of AM generally increased leaf, stem, and root biomass production of the host plant under eCO 2 [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Effect of Elevated CO2 on Seed Yield, Essential Oil Metabolism, Nutritive Value, and Biological Activity of Pimpinella anisum L. Accessions at Different Seed Maturity Stages

“…These variations could be ascribed to the variations among geographical locations, as well as environmental, variety, and genetic factors [11,12]. Similarly, the total antioxidant capacities in terms of FRAP, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and the inhibition of LDL oxidation of Thymus vulgare under the effect of eCO 2 were significantly improved [44]. They attributed such an effect to the boost in their contents of volatile oils, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, such as cinnamic and rosmarinic acids [45].…”

Biochemical responses of mycorrhizal-inoculated Lamiaceae (Lavender, Rosemary and Thyme) plants to drought: a field study

“…These roots colonizers (AMF) influence the growth and productivity of plants (Habibzadeh et al 2013;Begum et al 2019), promote photosynthetic efficiency, enhance the antioxidant system and regulate the osmotic balance of plant (Baslam and Goicoechea 2012). Production of different solutes, extensive network of the mycorrhizal plant roots and enhanced nutrient uptake are all among the processes that enable the plant to improve their growth and productivity under stressed condition (Abdel Latef and Miransari 2014;Habeeb et al 2020). The responses of plants to mycorrhizal symbiosis based on plant and fungi species may be different (Murphy et al 2015;Zhang et al 2013).…”