The effect of flavones and flavonols on colonization of tomato plants by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of the genera Gigaspora and Glomus

Abstract

No clear data are available on how flavonoids from different chemical groups affect root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and whether flavonoids affecting the presymbiotic growth of AMF also affect root colonization by AMF. In the present work, we compared the effect of flavones (chrysin and luteolin) and flavonols (kaempferol, morin, isorhamnetin, and rutin) on root colonization (number of entry points and degree of root colonization) of tomato plants (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) with the effect of these flavonoids on the presymbiotic growth of these AMF, which has been reported in a recent study. With all tested AMF (Gigaspora rosea, Gigaspora margarita, Glomus mosseae, and Glomus intraradices) a correlation between the number of entry points and the percentage of root colonization was found. When the number of entry points was high, root colonization was also enhanced. Application of the flavones chrysin and luteolin and of the flavonol morin increased the number of entry points and the degree of colonization,whereas the flavonols kaempferol, isorhamnetin, and rutin showed no effect. These results show that in contrast to their effect on the presymbiotic growth of the AMF on the level of root colonization, the tested flavonoids do not exhibit a genus- and species-specificity. Moreover, comparison of our data with the data obtained by J.M. Scervino, M.A. Ponce, R. Erra-Bassells, H. Vierheilig, J.A. Ocampo, and A. Godeas. (2005a. J. Plant Interact. 15: 22-30) indicates that a positive effect on the hyphal growth of AMF does not necessarily result in an enhanced AM root colonization, further indicating that the mode of action of flavonoids at the level of root colonization is more complex.

Flavonoids in plant rhizospheres: secretion, fate and their effects on biological communication

“…Flavonoids were shown to stimulate spore germination, hyphal branching and root colonization (Kikuchi et al 2007;Scervino et al 2005Scervino et al , 2007Siqueira et al 1991;Steinkellner et al 2007). Among flavonoids in tomato root exudates, chrysin, luteolin and morin increased the number of entry points and the root colonization of Gigaspora rosea, Gigaspora margarita, Glomus mosseae, and Glomus intraradices, whereas kaempferol, isorhamnetin, and rutin showed no effect (Scervino et al 2007). In addition, a M. truncatula mutant with coumestrol accumulation was found to be hyperinfected by AMF (Morandi et al 2009).…”

Development of Carrier Based in Vitro Produced Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungal Inocula for Organic Agriculture

“…After spore germination, the AM fungal hyphae grows towards the host plant roots [58,59], followed by penetration into the root cortical cells and leading to formation of intra-radical structures. Scervino et al [60,61] reported a close relationship between the number of entry points and the degree of colonization.…”

Metodología para la desinfección y germinación de esporas y fragmentos de raíces micorrizados con Glomus sp. (GEV02) para su uso bajo condiciones in vitro

“…Letras diferentes indican diferencias estadísticamente significativas (P ≤ 0,05), de acuerdo con la prueba de Tukey. Muchos estudios se han realizado sobre el efecto de los flavonides en la etapa pre-simbiótica y simbiótica de los HFMA; la mayoría se han realizado con hongos del género Gigaspora, en menor grado con especies de Glomus y prácticamente nada con otros géneros (Morandi, 1996;Vierheilig et al, 1998;scervino et al, 2005a;2005b;2006;2007;. La quercetina es el flavonoide más ampliamente distribuido en las plantas micorrizadas y tienen un efecto positivo en la germinación de las esporas y la longitud de las hifas (tsai y Phillips, 1991;bécard et al, 1992;chabot et al, 1992;Kape et al, 1992;bel-rhlid et al, 1993;Poulin et al, 1997).…”