Are carbon and nitrogen exchange between fungi and the orchid Goodyera repens affected by irradiance?

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

The green orchid Goodyera repens has been shown to transfer carbon to its mycorrhizal partner, and this flux may therefore be affected by light availability. This study aimed to test whether the C and N exchange between plant and fungus is dependent on light availability, and in addition addressed the question of whether flowering and/or fruiting individuals of G. repens compensate for changes in leaf chlorophyll concentration with changes in C and N flows from fungus to plant.

Methods

The natural abundances of stable isotopes of plant C and N were used to infer changes in fluxes between orchid and fungus across natural gradients of irradiance at five sites. Mycorrhizal fungi in the roots of G. repens were identified by molecular analyses. Chlorophyll con

SUBMITTER: Liebel HT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4540094 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature