Colonization characteristics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plants distributed in China

Abstract:

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play important roles in ecosystems and plant growth. The physiological and ecological roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, especially in promoting plant growth, have attracted much attention. The colonization characteristics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, as vital indicators of the symbiotic relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plants, are key parameters to evaluate the ecological adaptability of plants. However, systematic and comprehensive studies remain to be carried out regarding the colonization characteristics of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the plants growing in China. [Objective] This study explored the colonization parameters of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the plants growing in China, as well as their distribution in different ecosystems and climate regions, aiming to provide fundamental data to advance the research on mycorrhizae. [Methods] A database of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonizing plants growing in China was established with the data from FungalRoot and 605 Chinese papers. Furthermore, the database was supplemented with 47 700 data sets including mycorrhizal colonization characteristics, ecosystem types, climate regions, plant types, and plant growth years. The analysis in this study was then performed based on this database. [Results] In China, 69.7% and 30.3% plants exhibited the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization rates ranging from 0 to 55% and from 55% to 100%, respectively. The majority of plants showed the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization intensity, hyphal abundance, vesicular abundance, and arbuscular abundance below 40.0%. Among the symbiotic forms of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, type A was the most prevalent, existing in 56.3% plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi demonstrated similar colonization rates in farmland, desert, and grassland ecosystems (51.8%, 51.6%, and 51.8%, respectively) and a low colonization rate (40.4%) in forest ecosystems. The plants in desert ecosystems showcased the highest arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization intensity, hyphal abundance, vesicular abundance, and arbuscular abundance, which reached 46.0%, 47.1%, 37.2%, and 31.2%, respectively. In different climate regions, the colonization level followed the trend of warm temperate zone (53.3%)>tropical zone (50.0%)>temperate zone (45.2%)>subtropical zone (42.2%). The colonization level was higher in herbaceous plants than in woody plants, and higher in perennial plants than in annual plants. Among woody plants, shrubs had the highest colonization rate at 46.3%, followed by trees and vines, both at 43.9%. Herbaceous plants had higher colonization intensity (30.2%) and hyphal abundance (32.5%) than woody plants, while woody plants had higher vesicular abundance (19.5%) and arbuscular abundance (23.4%). Among the plants colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, angiosperms accounted for the majority (90.2%, belonging to 110 families), while ferns, gymnosperms, and lycophytes were less common. [Conclusion] In China, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi showed the colonization rate below 55% and colonization indicators below 40.0% in most plants. Different ecosystems, climate regions, plant types, and plant growth years affected the colonization status to different degrees.