Comparison of communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots of two Viola species

The composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in roots of rare Viola elatior and common V. mirabilis was investigated using PCR with primers specific for Glomus group A, followed by single-stranded conformation polymorphism analysis. Twelve AM fungal sequence types were identified, ten of them from both plant species. On average 3.8/7.5 sequence types were detected per 1 cm-long root fragment/per plant. The frequency of individual sequence types was higher and AM fungal community composition less variable in roots of common V. mirabilis than rare V. elatior. Our results suggest quantitative differences in the AM fungal communities hosted by the two host plant species.