Functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis under soil water deficiency
| Name: | Functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis under soil water deficiency |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Püschel David (researcher) Rydlová Jana (member in research team) Janoušková Martina (member in research team) |
| Provider: | Grantová agentura České republiky |
| Number: | GA17-12166S |
| Realization from: | 2017 |
| Realization to: | 2019 |
| Summary: | Climatic change causes periods without rain, unusual in a temperate zone, that cause significant harm in agriculture and natural ecosystems. Most terrestrial plants establish symbiosis, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), with soil fungi that, in exchange for C, provide plants with nutrients and increase their resistance towards biotic and abiotic stresses, including higher survival chance under water deficiency. However, the functioning of AM under drought is not adequately explored and the mechanisms of increased water uptake via AM are not understood well. The project aims on different aspects of AM functioning in a system (with Medicago truncatula and a community of 5 genetically and functionally different AM fungi) where water availability is manipulated. We plan 1) to study changes in mycorrhizal P-uptake in a moisture-gradient, 2) to assess AM revival after varying period of drought lethal for the host plant (the AM community shift will be monitored), 3) to study the effect of AM on plant water uptake and 4) to define the mechanisms of AM water transport through the soil. |