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Abstract Detail


Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions

Richardson, S. C. [1], Bever, J. D. [2].

Preferential allocation of resources to beneficial mycorrhizal fungi by Allium cernuum and feedback of fungi on plant fitness.

Mutualisms, beneficial interactions between different species, are common. However, mutualisms are predicted by evolutionary theory to be unstable when participants are transmitted horizontally, as they are in mycorrhizal mutualisms. Assuming that benefits from the mycorrhizal fungi are costly to produce, fungi that receive carbon from plants but do not reciprocate should reproduce faster than fungi that benefit plants. We hypothesized that spatial structure of fungal species in the soil may allow plants to allocate resources to more benefical fungi, which would maintain the stability of the mutualism. Using a split-root pot design, we tested whether spatial structure affected the ability of Allium cernuum, to preferentially allocate resources towards Scutellospora fulgida, the more beneficial fungus, over Glomus claroidium. We also investigated whether differential growth of fungal species affected plant fitness.


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1 - DePaul University, Environmental Sciences Program, 125 McGowan, 2325 N. Clifton Ave, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA
2 - Indiana University, Dept of Biology, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

Keywords:
mutualism
mycorrhizal fungi
mycorrhizal feedback
resource allocation
Symbiosis
roots
growth
Plantaginaceae.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: CP51
Location: Continental B/Hilton
Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Time: 1:45 PM
Number: CP51004
Abstract ID:1423


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