Breaking dormancy is spores of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices: a critical cold-storage period.
To elucidate the effect of cold storage on spore dormancy in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices, spores were cold stratified at 4 degrees C, for either 0, 3, 7, 14, 90 or 120 days, prior to germination tests at 25 degrees C. The results showed that cold stratification longer than 14 days significantly increased spore germination. Moreover, the longer cold storage periods clearly reduced spore mortality from 90% to 50% and considerably altered the hyphal growth pattern. Long polarized hyphae were only observed after cold stratification periods longer than 14 days, involving consequences for root infectivity. The results clearly show that environmental factors, e.g., coldness, can affect the physiology of AM fungal spores.
Juge
Christine
C
Centre de Recherche en Biologie Forestière, Pavillon C.-E.-Marchand, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Québec G1K-7P4, Canada. cjuge@rsvs.ulaval.ca
Samson
Julie
J
Bastien
Claudia
C
Vierheilig
Horst
H
Coughlan
Andrew
A
Piché
Yves
Y
D003080:Cold Temperature; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology*; D025301:Hyphae / Q000502:physiology; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D012034:Refrigeration; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000502:physiology*