title: Establishment, persistence and effectiveness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculants in the field revealed using molecular genetic tracing and measurement of yield components.
abstract: • Inoculation of crop plants by non-native strains of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi as bio-enhancers is promoted without clear evidence for symbiotic effectiveness and fungal persistence. To address such gaps, the forage legume Medicago sativa was inoculated in an agronomic field trial with two isolates of Funneliformis mosseae differing in their nuclear rDNA sequences from native strains. • The inoculants were traced by PCR with a novel combination of the universal fungal NS31 and Glomeromycota-specific LSUGlom1 primers which target the nuclear rDNA cistron. The amplicons were classified by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing. • The two applied fungal inoculants were successfully traced and discriminated from native strains in roots sampled from the field up to 2 yr post inoculation. Moreover, field inoculation with inocula of non-native isolates of F. mosseae appeared to have stimulated root colonization and yield of M. sativa. • Proof of inoculation success and sustained positive effects on biomass production and quality of M. sativa crop plants hold promise for the role that AM fungal inoculants could play in agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, P.za Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy.|Department of Crop Plant Biology, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Plant Biology, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Turrini
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 1, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.|Group of Plant Nutrition, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Eschikon 33, 8315 Lindau (ZH), Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hannes A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Gamper
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Plant Biology, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cafà
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, P.za Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bonari
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.
authors.forename: J Peter W
authors.initials: JPW
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Plant Biology, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannetti
mesh_terms: D059827:Agricultural Inoculants; D000383:Agriculture; D001483:Base Sequence; D018533:Biomass; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D055137:Glomeromycota / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D000455:Medicago sativa / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005819:Genetic Markers