Interaction of plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in responses to arsenic stress: a collaborative tale useful to manage contaminated soils

SPAGNOLETTI FEDERICO NICOLAS; LAVADO RAUL SILVIO; GIACOMETTI ROMINA

Mechanisms of Arsenic Toxicity and Tolerance in Plants

SPRINGER

Año: 2018; p. 1 - 553

Arsenic is non-essential element and its uptake and accumulation in plant tissues can affect metabolism, causing physiological disorders even death. However, some microorganisms have the ability to overcome those unfavorable effects and to improve plant performance under As stressful environments. Among them, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are able to alleviate the harmful effects of the metalloid. AMF have been found to occur even in highly contaminated soils; possibly due to several physiological and biochemical mechanisms that fungi display to tolerate As presence. Mycorrhizal plants show more tolerance to As toxicity since i) AMF inoculation improves the plant yield and causes a dilution effect in the As concentration in plant; (ii) sequester As in fungal structures such as intraradical hyphae, and reducing the metal intake by roots; (iii) mycorrhizal symbiosis immobilizes As, reducing its translocation toward leaves and other plant organs; (iv) AMF can decrease arsenate uptake into the roots by suppressing the high affinity arsenate/phosphate transporters; (v) AMF promote the biotransformation of As and (vi) can protect its plant host reducing oxidative damage. This chapter summarizes current knowledge about the effect of As contamination on plants and on the establishment and functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and its contribution to the phytoremediation of polluted soil.