Microbial and Arbuscular Micorrhizal Fungi diversity along altitudinal gradient in South American Puna grassland

LUGO M; MENOYO E; ESTEVEZ MC; FERRERO M; SIÑERIZ F

San Francisco, USA

Congreso; XIth International Congress of Mycology; 2005

IUMS

Arbuscular micorrhizal fungi (AMF) are main component of the microbial soil community and its diversity is associated with plant community structure and functioning. They are highly effective at capture and translocation of soil nutrients as phosphorus from soil to the plant. AMF interactions with bacteria have synergistic beneficial effect on plant growth, but little is known about these interactions in pot and crop systems. Puna is a South American stressed biogeographic region with unique features. Rhizospheric soil samples were taken along altitudinal gradient and bacterial and fungal biodiversity associated was analyze using PCR-DGGE and morphological methods, respectively.