Record ID No. |
2010 |
Author(s) |
Stevens K.J., Peterson R.L , 2007 |
Affiliation |
Univ N Texas, Dept Biol Sci, Inst Appl Sci, POB 310559, Denton,TX 76203 USA |
Title |
Relationships among three pathways for resource acquisition and their contribution to plant performance in the emergent aquatic plant Lythrum salicaria (L.) |
Source. Vol.(no):Page |
Plant Biology.9(6):758-765p. |
Categories |
Arbuscular Mycorrhiza |
Subjects |
Biochemistry |
Sub-subjects |
Miscellaneous |
Organism |
n.a. |
Country |
United States |
Abstracts |
Three pathways for resource acquisition exist in the emergent aquatic plant,
Lythrum salicaria.(L.); a subterranean root system, a free-floating adventitious root system, and
arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungal hyphae colonizing subterranean roots. This study examined the
relationship(s) among these pathways and their contribution to plant performance. If the
free-floating adventitious root system and/or AM fungi contribute to plant growth in wetland
habitats, we predicted that their absence would result in a significant reduction in plant
performance. Furthermore, if a reduction in resource uptake, effected by an absence of
free-floating adventitious roots and/or AM fungi, is compensated for by increased allocation to
remaining pathway(s) for resource uptake, we predicted altered patterns of resource allocation
among shoots and the remaining pathway(s) for resource uptake. Contrary to our predications,
plants experiencing adventitious root removal and/or grown in the absence of AM fungi generally
had greater biomass and total shoot height than controls. Similarly, while levels of AM
colonization and subterranean root biomass displayed a treatment effect, the observed responses
did not correspond with our predictions. This was also true for shoot: subterranean root dry
weight ratios. Our results indicate that there is interaction among the 3 pathways for resource
acquisition in L. Salicaria and an effect on plant performance. The adaptive significance of
these characteristics is unclear, highlighting the potential difficulties in extrapolating from
terrestrial to aquatic plant species and among aquatic plant species with potentially different
life history strategies. |