Title: Effects of mycorrhizal inoculation on morphological and photosynthetic responses of tomato in the early stages of the symbiosis

Biography:

Nadia Massa is a technician in the Biological Laboratories of the Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy. She graduated cum laude in Biological Sciences at the University of Piemonte Orientale and attained a PhD in "Environmental Science, internal waters and agroecosystems" at the same University. 

Abstract

The concept of symbiosis can be described as a continuum of interactions between organisms ranging from mutualism to parasitism, and in which changes con occur over time. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are among the most important plant symbionts. They provide nutrients to the host plant and, in change, receive photosynthates and the possibility to complete their life cycle, so their relationship is generally described as mutualistic. Once the symbiosis is established, mycorrhizal plants are more tolerant to biotic or abiotic stresses, however, little is known about the AMF effects on the plant during the early stages of infection.

The aim of this work was to assess the effects of inoculation with the AM fungus Funelliformis mosseae on plants of Solanum lycopersicum cv. Rio grande, at four different harvest times: 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after inoculation. At each harvest, mycorrhizal colonization, shoot and root weights and morphometric parameters, as well as photosynthetic activities were evaluated.

The presence of AMF in the tomato root system was observed only starting from the 14th day after inoculation, and its level increased over time. Even if few effects on the morphometric parameters were observed, some differences between mycorrhizal and control plants were detected at photosynthetic level.

In conclusion, considering the fungus and the plant species tested in this work, the AMF inoculation, in the early stages of growth, didn’t affect plant performance at macroscopic level, while some positive effects were observed in the photosynthetic process.