title: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in arsenic-contaminated areas in Brazil.
abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are ubiquitous and establish important symbiotic relationships with the majority of the plants, even in soils contaminated with arsenic (As). In order to better understand the ecological relationships of these fungi with excess As in soils and their effects on plants in tropical conditions, occurrence and diversity of AMF were evaluated in areas affected by gold mining activity in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Soils of four areas with different As concentrations (mg dm(-3)) were sampled: reference Area (10); B1 (subsuperficial layer) (396); barren material (573), and mine waste (1046). Soil sampling was carried out in rainy and dry seasons, including six composite samples per area (n = 24). AMF occurred widespread in all areas, being influenced by As concentrations and sampling periods. A total of 23 species were identified, belonging to the following genus: Acaulospora (10 species), Scutellospora (4 species), Racocetra (3 species), Glomus (4 species), Gigaspora (1 species) and Paraglomus (1 species). The most frequent species occurring in all areas were Paraglomus occultum, Acaulospora morrowiae and Glomus clarum. The predominance of these species indicates their high tolerance to excess As. Although arsenic contamination reduced AMF species richness, presence of host plants tended to counterbalance this reduction.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Cx.P. 3037, Lavras, MG 37200-000, Brazil. Electronic address: jerusaschneider@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jerusa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Sidney Luiz
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Stürmer
authors.forename: Luiz Roberto Guimarães
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Guilherme
authors.forename: Fatima Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: de Souza Moreira
authors.forename: Claudio Roberto Fonsêca de Sousa
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000737:chemistry*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001938:Brazil; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004463:Ecology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D055137:Glomeromycota / Q000378:metabolism*; D008906:Mining; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011891:Rain; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Glomeromycota; Gold mining; Phytoremediation; Species diversity; Tolerance