Robin Duponnois

cg12 expression is specifically linked to infection of root hairs and cortical cells during Casuarina glauca and Allocasuarina verticillata actinorhizal nodule development.

cg12 is an early actinorhizal nodulin gene from Casuarina glauca encoding a subtilisin-like serine protease. Using transgenic Casuarinaceae plants carrying cg12-gus and cg12-gfp fusions, we have studied the expression pattern conferred by the cg12 promoter region after inoculation with Frankia. cg12 was found to be expressed in root hairs and in root and nodule cortical cells containing Frankia infection threads. cg12 expression was also monitored after inoculation with ineffective Frankia strains, during mycorrhizae formation, and after diverse hormonal treatments. None of these treatments was able to induce its expression, therefore suggesting that cg12 expression is linked to plant cell infection by Frankia strains. Possible roles of cg12 in actinorhizal symbiosis are discussed.

The mycorrhizal soil infectivity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore communities in soils of different aged fallows in Senegal

This work was carried out to determine the influence of the duration of fallow and of physico-chemical components of soils on the distribution of endomycorrhizal fungal spores and the mycorrhizal soil infectivity. The mycorrhization of indigenous plants from the fallows was examined and it was concluded that, except for Cassia obtusifolia, fungal colonization was poorly developed. No correlation was established between spore populations and duration of fallow or between grazed and fenced areas. The relationships between abundance of mycorrhizal spores and the physico-chemical characteristics of the soils were markedly variable among species of mycorrhizal fungi. The results did not provide evidence of a beneficial effect of increased length of fallowing on mycorrhizal soil infectivity, but they did demonstrated the positive effect of preventing grazing on the re-establishment of vegetation during the fallow period.

The fungus-specificity of mycorrhization helper bacteria (MHBs) used as an alternative to soil fumigation for ectomycorrhizal inoculation of bare-root Douglas-fir planting stocks with Laccaria laccata

Mycorrhization helper bacteria (MHBs) isolated and selected from the Douglas fir-Laccaria laccata symbiotic system have previously been shown to be fungus-specific: they promote ectomycorrhizal establishment of Laccaria laccata but inhibit mycorrhiza formation by other fungi. In this paper, two experiments in a nursery producing two years-old bare-root Douglas-fir planting stocks confirm the specificity of MHBs under field conditions. They also show that, by selectively helping the introduced L. laccata against the resident symbionts, MHBs are an interesting alternative (safer and easier) to soil fumigation for the success of routine controlled mycorrhization of planting stocks in forest nurseries.

Growth stimulation of seventeen fallow leguminous plants inoculated with Glomus aggregatum in Senegal

Abstract Tropical legumes from fallowed areas in Senegal were inoculated with a tropical strain of Glomus aggregatum to test their relative mycorrhizal dependency in a greenhouse experiment. Twelve species among the seventeen tested showed a significant growth increase when mycorrhizal. Their mycorrhizal dependency varied from 92.7% for Indigofera stenophylla to 26.2% for Prosopis julifora . A significant positive correlation was found between mycorrhizal dependency and root hair length. The results confirm the high mycorrhizal dependency of legumes which are economically very important in the restoration of soil fertility of fallowed areas in the Sahelian and Soudano-Sahelian zones.

Rhizosphere microbiota interfers with plant-plant interactions

Diversity, structure and productivity of above-ground compartment of terrestrial ecosystems have been generally considered as the main drivers of the relationships between diversity and ecosystem functioning. More recently it has been suggested that plant population dynamics may be linked with the development of the below-ground community. The biologically active soil zone where root-root and root-microbe communications occur is named “Rhizosphere” where root exudates play active roles in regulating rhizosphere interactions. Root exudation can regulate the soil microbial community, withstand herbivory, facilitate beneficial symbioses, modify the chemical and physical soil properties and inhibit the growth of competing plant species. In this review, we explore the current knowledge assessing the importance of root exudates in plant interactions, in communications between parasitic plants and their hosts and how some soil microbial components could regulate plant species coexistence and change relationships between plants. This review will be focussed on several well documented biological processes regulating plant-plant communications such as exotic plant species invasions, negative root-root communication (allelopathy) and parasitic plant / host plant interactions and how some soil microbial components can interfere with signal traffic between roots. The reported data show that the overall effect of one plant to another results from multiple interacting mechanisms where soil microbiota can be considered as a key component.

Interactions between ectomycorrhizal symbiosis and fluorescent pseudomonads on Acacia holosericea: isolation of mycorrhiza helper bacteria (MHB) from a Soudano-Sahelian soil.

Abstract Acacia holosericea seedlings were planted in 1-l pots filled with a soil collected from an Australian Acacia plantation in Southern Senegal. After 6 months of culture, mycorrhizosphere soil, roots, galls induced by root-knot nematodes and Rhizobium nodules were sampled from each pot. The diversity of this bacterial group was characterized by siderotyping (pyoverdine IsoElectric Focusing (IEF) analysis) and by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The effect of these isolates on the establishment of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis between an Australian Acacia (A. holosericea) and Pisolithus sp. strain IR100 was studied. In the mycorrhizosphere soil, the population of fluorescent pseudomonads was represented by strains of two different siderovars (groups of bacterial strains presenting an identical pyoverdine-IEF pattern): siderovar 1 (74%) and siderovar 2 (26%). The siderotyping of the isolates around galls of the root-knot nematodes revealed three siderovars (40% from siderovar 1, 40% from siderovar 2 and about 15% from siderovar 3). RFLP of 16S rDNA divided the isolates into four different groups with MspI, two with HhaI and two with HaeIII endonucleases. The establishment of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with A. holosericea was promoted by 14 bacterial strains isolated from the mycorrhizosphere soil, three isolates from the roots and four from the galls. Shoot biomass of A. holosericea seedlings was stimulated by eight bacterial isolates from soil, six isolates from galls and seven from roots. These mycorrhiza helper bacteria could have a great ecological importance in tropical areas through the reforestation programs.

Functional compatibility of two arbuscular mycorrhizae with thirteen fruit trees in Senegal.

Functional compatibility between thirteen tropical fruit trees (Afzelia africana Smith., Adansonia digitata L., Aphania senegalensis Radlk., Anacardium occidentale L., Cordyla pinnata (Lepr. ex A. Rich.) Milne-Redhead, Dialium guineensis Wild., Landolphia heudelottii A.DC., Sclerocarya birrea (A.Roch.) Hochst., Saba senegalensis (A. DC.) Pichon and four reference hosts Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del., Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.), Tamarindus indica L. and Zizyphus mauritiana Lam.) and two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Glomus aggregatum Schenck and Smith emend. Schenck and Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith), was investigated. Marked differences were found between them in terms of mycorrhizal formation, root colonization, relative mycorrhizal dependency (RMD) and phosphorus concentrations in shoot tissues. A. africana, L. heudelottii and S. senegalensis did not form symbiotic associations, and the growth of A. africana decreased following mycorrhizal inoculation, while L. heudelottii and S. senegalensis showed no dependency. In contrast, A. digitata, A. senegalensis, A. occidentale, B. aegyptiaca and S. birrea were well colonized with AMF, but did not significantly increase in biomass production. Five fruit trees did, however, show dependency by a positive interaction with G. aggregatum, the most effective AMF. Z. mauritiana was found to be very highly dependent (RMD > 75%), T. indica was highly dependent (50–75% RMD), and D. guineensis, P. biglobosa and C. pinnata were moderately dependent (25–50% RMD). Phosphorus absorption probably contributed to this dependency more than the absorption of potassium. These results indicate that some tropical fruit trees do derive benefits from AM inoculation, while others do not.

Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis of tropical African trees

The diversity, ecology and function of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi and ectomycorrhizas (ECMs) on tropical African tree species are reviewed here. While ECMs are the most frequent mycorrhizal type in temperate and boreal forests, they concern an economically and ecologically important minority of plants in African tropical forests. In these African tropical forests, ECMs are found mainly on caesalpionioid legumes, Sarcolaenaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Asterpeiaceae, Phyllantaceae, Sapotaceae, Papilionoideae, Gnetaceae and Proteaceae, and distributed in open, gallery and rainforests of the Guineo-Congolian basin, Zambezian Miombo woodlands of East and South-Central Africa and Sudanian savannah woodlands of the sub-sahara. Overall, EM status was confirmed in 93 (26%) among 354 tree species belonging to EM genera. In addition, 195 fungal taxa were identified using morphological descriptions and sequencing of the ML5/ML6 fragment of sporocarps and ECMs from West Africa. Analyses of the belowground EM fungal communities mostly based on fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences of ECMs from Continental Africa, Madagascar and the Seychelles also revealed more than 350 putative species of EM fungi belonging mainly to 18 phylogenetic lineages. As in temperate forests, the /russula–lactarius and /tomentella–thelephora lineages dominated EM fungal flora in tropical Africa. A low level of host preference and dominance of multi-host fungal taxa on different African adult tree species and their seedlings were revealed, suggesting a potential for the formation of common ectomycorrhizal networks. Moreover, the EM inoculum potential in terms of types and density of propagules (spores, sclerotia, EM root fragments and fragments of mycelia strands) in the soil allowed opportunistic root colonisation as well as long-term survival in the soil during the dry season. These are important characteristics when choosing an EM fungus for field application. In this respect, Thelephoroid fungal sp. XM002, an efficient and competitive broad host range EM fungus, possessed these characteristics and appeared to be a good candidate for artificial inoculation of Caesalps and Phyllanthaceae seedlings in nurseries. However, further efforts should be made to assess the genetic and functional diversity of African EM fungi as well as the EM status of unstudied plant species and to strengthen the use of efficient and competitive EM fungi to improve production of ecologically and economically important African multipurpose trees in plantations.

Changes in soil diversity and global activities following invasions of the exotic invasive plant, Amaranthus viridis L., decrease the growth of native sahelian Acacia species

The objectives of this study were to determine whether the invasive plant Amaranthus viridis influenced soil microbial and chemical properties and to assess the consequences of these modifications on native plant growth. The experiment was conducted in Senegal at two sites: one invaded by A. viridis and the other covered by other plant species. Soil nutrient contents as well as microbial community density, diversity and functions were measured. Additionally, five sahelian Acacia species were grown in (1) soil disinfected or not collected from both sites, (2) uninvaded soil exposed to an A. viridis plant aqueous extract and (3) soil collected from invaded and uninvaded sites and inoculated or not with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices. The results showed that the invasion of A. viridis increased soil nutrient availability, bacterial abundance and microbial activities. In contrast, AM fungi and rhizobial development and the growth of Acacia species were severely reduced in A. viridis-invaded soil. Amaranthus viridis aqueous extract also exhibited an inhibitory effect on rhizobial growth, indicating an antibacterial activity of this plant extract. However, the inoculation of G. intraradices was highly beneficial to the growth and nodulation of Acacia species. These results highlight the role of AM symbiosis in the processes involved in plant coexistence and in ecosystem management programs that target preservation of native plant diversity.

Symbiosis of Acacia auriculiformis and Acacia mangium with mycorrhizal fungi and Bradyrhizobium spp. improves salt tolerance in greenhouse conditions

The aim of our work was to assess the growth and mineral nutrition of salt stressed Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth. and Acacia mangium Willd. seedlings inoculated with a combination of selected microsymbionts (bradyrhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi). Plants were grown in greenhouse conditions in non-sterile soil, irrigated with a saline nutrient solution (0, 50 and 100 mm NaCl). The inoculation combinations consisted of the Bradyrhizobium strain Aust 13c for A. mangium and Aust 11c for A. auriculiformis, an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus intraradices, DAOM 181602) and an ectomycorrhizal fungus (Pisolithus albus, strain COI 007). The inoculation treatments were designed to identify the symbionts that might improve the salt tolerance of both Acacia species. The main effect of salinity was reduced tree growth in both acacias. However, it appeared that, compared with controls, both rhizobial and mycorrhizal inoculation improved the growth of the salt-stressed plants, while inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus strain appeared to have a small effect on their growth and mineral nutrition levels. Endomycorrhizal inoculation combined with rhizobial inoculation usually gave good results. Analysis of foliar proline accumulation confirmed that dual inoculation gave the trees better tolerance to salt stress and suggested that the use of this dual inoculum might be beneficial for inoculation of both Acacia species in soils with moderate salt constraints.