Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important mutualistic microbes in soil, which have capacity to form mutualistic associations with most land plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play an important role in plant invasions and their interactions with invasive plants have received increasing attention. However, the chemical mechanisms underlying the interactions of AMF and invasive plants are still poorly understood. In this study we aim to test whether root secondary chemicals are related to enhanced AMF colonization and rapid growth in an invasive tree. We conducted a common garden experiment in China with Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) to examine the relationships among AMF colonization and secondary metabolites in roots of plants from introduced (USA) and native (China) populations. We found that AMF colonization rate was higher in introduced populations compared to native populations. Roots of plants from introduced populations had lower levels of phenolics and tannins, but higher levels of flavonoids than those of plants from native populations. Flavonoids were positively correlated with AMF colonization, and this relationship was especially strong for introduced populations. Besides, AMF colonization was positively correlated with plant biomass suggesting that higher root flavonoids and AMF colonization may impact plant performance. This suggests that higher root flavonoids in plants from introduced populations may promote AMF spore germination and/or attract hyphae to their roots, which may subsequently increase plant growth. Overall, our results support a scenario in which invasive plants enhance their AMF association and invasion success via genetic changes in their root flavonoid metabolism. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying plant invasion success and the evolutionary interactions between plants and AMF. Understanding such mechanisms of invasive plant success is critical for predicting and managing plant invasions in addition to providing important insights into the chemical mechanism of AMF–plant interactions.
Highlights
Plant invasions can damage the ecological environment (Tanveer et al 2018) by reducing the diversity or abundance of native plant and animal communities (Moroń et al 2009; Stefanowicz et al 2017)
We have a wealth of evidence showing that invasive plants and introduced populations of invasive plants often benefit more from Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associations than native species or native populations, respectively, we know little about what drives these higher rates of mycorrhizal colonization that underlie these high colonization rates and benefits
We investigated whether higher flavonoids in roots of T. sebifera plants from introduced populations are correlated with higher AMF colonization rates, which contribute to their rapid growth
Summary
Plant invasions can damage the ecological environment (Tanveer et al 2018) by reducing the diversity or abundance of native plant and animal communities (Moroń et al 2009; Stefanowicz et al 2017). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi build symbiotic relationships with >80 % of terrestrial plants, including many invasive plants (Reinhart and Callaway 2006; Zdenka et al 2013; Horn et al 2017; Mello and Balestrini 2018) They typically benefit their host plants by promoting soil nutrient mobilization and absorption (Rillig 2010; Datta and Kulkarni 2014; Bunn et al 2015; Kim et al 2015; Jiang et al 2018; Zhang et al 2019). The enhanced mutualisms hypothesis indicates that invasive species can alter the AMF community and receive greater benefits from them compared to co-occurring native plants, which may facilitate their invasion (Reinhart and Callaway 2006) by increasing survival, growth rate and/or competitiveness (Sun and He 2010; Lekberg et al 2013; Zhang et al 2017). We have a wealth of evidence showing that invasive plants and introduced populations of invasive plants often benefit more from AMF associations than native species or native populations, respectively, we know little about what drives these higher rates of mycorrhizal colonization that underlie these high colonization rates and benefits
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