Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil, roots and rhizosphere of Medicago truncatula: diversity and heterogeneity under semi-arid conditions.

ABSTRACT: Mycorrhizal symbioses are considered indicators of ecosystem biodiversity. However, their diversity and relevance in arid and semi-arid ecosystems are poorly understood. This study addressed this subject, the main objective being to evaluate arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) diversity and heterogeneity in a semi-arid region. Samples of bulk and rhizosphere soil and fine roots of Medicago truncatula were collected at four different sites with the same aridity index (6.1), in Bou-Hedma National Park, Tunisia, a semi-arid ecosystem. AMF taxa were assessed by 454- pyrosequencing and identified by BLAST matching of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) against the MaarjAM database, targeting AMF SSU rRNA gene diversity. Roots were the hotspots of AMF diversity (107 OTUs out o

SUBMITTER: Mahmoudi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6398376 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature