Infectivity of monoaxenic subcultures of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus versiforme associated with Ri-T-DNA-transformed carrot root

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology 1996, Vol.46 (5/6), p.545-548
• Main Authors: Plenchette, C, Declerck, S, Diop, T.A, Strullu, D.G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Daucus carota; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glomus versiforme; Life Sciences; Microbiology; Microbiology and Parasitology; Mycology; Pathogenicity, host-agent relations, miscellaneous strains, epidemiology
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s002530050858

Glomus versiforme was associated in vitro with Ri-T-DNA-transformed carrot root and after 4 months of cultivation, numerous axenic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) propagules were obtained. Three successive generations of spores and mycorrhizal root pieces were obtained by reassociating a 4-month-old root piece with a new carrot root. A biological test was conducted to assess the infectivity of the three generations of inoculum. Both for spores and mycorrhizal root pieces, a significant decrease in infectivity was observed among the successive generations. Mycorrhizal root pieces however, exhibited, higher infectivity than spores. These results show the possibility of maintaining AM fungi cultures in axenic conditions for a long time and raise questions about the loss of infectivity among the generations. The necessity of maintaining the same strains in vitro and in vivo in two separate collections is discussed.