Colonisation of native Andean grasses by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Puna: a matter of altitude, host photosynthetic pathway and host life cycles.

LUGO, M.; NEGRITTO, M. A.; JOFRE, M.; ANTON, A. M.; GALETTO, L.

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012 vol. 81 p. 455 - 466

0168-6496

The relationships of altitude, host life cycle (annual or perennial) and photo-synthetic pathway (C3 or C4) with arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) root coloniza-tion were analysed in 35 species of Andean grasses. The study area is located innorth-western Argentina along altitudinal sites within the Puna biogeographicalregion. Twenty-one sites from 3320 to 4314 m were sampled. Thirty-fivegrasses were collected, and the AM root colonization was quantified. We usedmultivariate analyses to test emerging patterns in these species by consideringthe plant traits and variables of AM colonization. Pearson?s correlations werecarried out to evaluate the specific relationships between some variables. Mostgrasses were associated with AM, but the colonization percentages were low inboth C3 and C4 grasses. Nevertheless, the AM root colonization clearlydecreased as the altitude increased. This distinctive pattern among differentspecies was also observed between some of the populations of the same speciessampled throughout the sites. An inverse relationship between altitude and AMcolonization was found in this Southern Hemisphere Andean system. The effectof altitude on AM colonization seems to be more related to the grasses? photo-synthetic pathway than to life cycles. This study represents the first report forthis biogeographical region.