Mycorrhizal status of the host plant is often ignored in studies on plant-herbivore interactions, but mycorrhizal colonization is known to induce many morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes in host plants, which in turn may alter plant quality as a host for insect herbivores. Both positive and negative effects of mycorrhizal colonization of the host plant on performance and densi...

Mycorrhizal phenotypes arise from interactions among plant and fungal genotypes and the environment. Differences in the stoichiometry and uptake capacity of fungi and plants make arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi inherently more nitrogen (N) limited and less phosphorus (P) limited than their host plants. Mutualistic phenotypes are most likely in P-limited systems and commensal or parasitic phen...

Plant species in the subfamily Monotropoideae are mycoheterotrophs; they obtain fixed carbon from photosynthetic plants via a shared mycorrhizal network. Previous findings show mycoheterotrophic plants exhibit a high level of specificity to their mycorrhizal fungi. In this study we explore the association of mycorrhizal fungi and Monotropa uniflora (Monotropoideae: Ericaceae) in eastern North A...

The roots of most land plants are colonised by mycorrhizal fungi that provide mineral nutrients in exchange for carbon. Here, we show that mycorrhizal mycelia can also act as a conduit for signalling between plants, acting as an early warning system for herbivore attack. Insect herbivory causes systemic changes in the production of plant volatiles, particularly methyl salicylate, making bean pl...

Subterranean clover inoculated or not with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices was grown on soil containing six levels of 238U in the range 0-87 mg kg(-1). Increasing U concentration in soil enhanced the U concentration in roots and shoots of both mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants but had no significant effects on plant dry matter production or root AM colonization. M...

A polyphasic approach has been developed to gain knowledge of suitable key indicators for the evaluation of environmental impact of genetically modified Bt 11 and Bt 176 corn lines on soil ecosystems. We assessed the effects of Bt corn (which constitutively expresses the insecticidal toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis, encoded by the truncated Cry1Ab gene) and non-Bt corn plants and their residu...

Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici causes take-all disease, the most important root disease of cereal plants. Cereal plants are able to form a symbiotic association with soil-borne arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi which can provide bioprotection against soil-borne fungal pathogens. However, the bioprotective effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi against soil-borne fungal pathogens might vary. In...

Mycorrhizae are nearly ubiquitous symbioses formed between plants and fungi. Plants provide fungi with carbon captured through photosynthesis, while fungi provide plants with soil resources. Historically, research has focused on the effects of mycorrhizae on nutrient uptake and the fitness of individual plants. More recently, there has been a growing appreciation for the importance of mycorrhiz...