Influence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (AM) Fungi in some selected contaminated soils of Visakhapatnam

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DOI: 10.4103/2231-4040.197331

Mycorrhizae are a type of fungi which form a mutialistic relationship with the roots of most plant species. Such symbiosis was first evolved ~400 million years ago, possibly helping the earliest terrestrial plants to take up nutrients in the absence of complex vascular root system. The driving force behind AM interactions is an exchange of nutrients between fungus and plant. The fungus provides nutritional benefits to the plant by delivering minerals, including the biologically essential nutrients like Phosphorous (P) and Nitrogen (N). Phosphate acquisition via the mycorrhizal pathway begins with the uptake of free phosphate from soil by fungal extra-radical hyphae. These fungal hyphae extend beyond the host root system, allowing a greater soil volume to be exploited for phosphate uptake. The occurrence Glomus species was more in soil samples ranging from 23% to 88% (SS4-SS5) whereas Acaulospora species was more in soil samples ranging from 11% to 77% (SS4-SS5) along with Scutellospora species measured in soil samples ranged from 9% to 77% (SS1-SS6).

Keywords: AM fungi, symbiosis, nutrients