Abstract
Interactions between invasive plants and root endophytes may contribute to the exploration of plant invasion causes. Twenty plant species of alien origin differing in invasiveness were studied in terms of status and typical structures of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and dark septate endophytes (DSE) in urban habitats in Silesia Upland (southern Poland). We observed that 75 % of investigated plant species were mycorrhizal. The arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) of most plant species was of the Arum morphology. The nearly 100 % mycorrhizal frequency, high intensity of AM colonization within root cortex and the presence of arbuscules in all mycorrhizal plant species indicate that the investigated species are able to establish AM associations in the secondary range and urban habitats. DSE were present in all mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal species. The frequency of DSE was significantly lower in non-mycorrhizal group of plants, however, sclerotia of DSE were found mainly in the roots of non-mycorrhizal plant species. The group of species native to North America including three Solidago congeners have the highest values of all AM mycorrhization and DSE indices. Moreover, we observed that most mycorrhizal invasive species belonged to the family Asteraceae. In turn, representatives of Poaceae had the lowest values of AM mycorrhization. Nevertheless, quite high values of DSE frequency were also encountered in roots of Poaceae species. The high invasiveness of the representatives of the Asteraceae family from North America support theory that both taxonomic pattern, and the fact of root endophytes colonization contribute to invasion success. While, the taxa of Reynoutria also represent successful invaders but they are of Asiatic origin, non-mycorrhizal and weakly colonized by DSE fungi.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10265-016-0802-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is the most ancestral and commonest type of mycorrhizal symbiosis (Brundrett 2002), in which the fungal hyphae penetrate the cortical cell wall of the host plant’s root
It is possible that invasive alien species benefit from arbuscular mycorrhiza or they are not encouraged by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and other factors influence their invasiveness (Shah et al 2009)
We present a detailed report on the mycorrhizal status, AMF colonization rate and AM morphology of 20 alien plant species in Polish flora
Summary
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is the most ancestral and commonest type of mycorrhizal symbiosis (Brundrett 2002), in which the fungal hyphae penetrate the cortical cell wall of the host plant’s root. It is characterized by the arbuscules and vesicles formed by the aseptate, obligately symbiotic fungi of the phylum Glomeromycota (Schüßler et al 2001). In this association the host plant provides the fungus with assimilates i.e. soluble carbon sources, whereas the fungus provides the host plant with an increased capacity to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. It is possible that invasive alien species benefit from arbuscular mycorrhiza or they are not encouraged by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and other factors influence their invasiveness (Shah et al 2009)
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