Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate plant symbionts that have the potential to improve crop yield. These multinucleate organisms are either “homokaryotic” or “dikaryotic”. In AMF dikaryons, thousands of nuclei originating from two parental strains coexist in the same cytoplasm. In other...

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Main Authors: Edward Umberto Serghi, Vasilis Kokkoris, Calvin Cornell, Jeremy Dettman, Franck Stefani, Nicolas Corradi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.715377/full
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spelling doaj-d03bbf30050d4b979cd6a49b179fffdc2021-08-05T04:52:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2021-08-011210.3389/fpls.2021.715377715377Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History StrategyEdward Umberto Serghi0Vasilis Kokkoris1Vasilis Kokkoris2Calvin Cornell3Jeremy Dettman4Franck Stefani5Nicolas Corradi6Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Ottawa, ON, CanadaAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, CanadaArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate plant symbionts that have the potential to improve crop yield. These multinucleate organisms are either “homokaryotic” or “dikaryotic”. In AMF dikaryons, thousands of nuclei originating from two parental strains coexist in the same cytoplasm. In other fungi, homokaryotic and dikaryotic strains show distinct life history traits (LHTs), such as variation in growth rates and fitness. However, how such traits compare between dikaryons and homokaryons of AMF is unknown. To address this, we measured 20 LHT of four dikaryons and five homokaryons of the model fungus Rhizophagus irregularis across root organ cultures of three host plants (carrot, chicory, and tobacco). Our analyses show that dikaryons have clearly distinct life history strategies (LHSs) compared to homokaryons. In particular, spores of homokaryons germinate faster and to a higher proportion than dikaryons, whereas dikaryons grow significantly faster and create a more complex hyphal network irrespective of host plant species. Our study links AMF nuclear status with key LHT with possible implications for mycorrhizal symbiotic functioning.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.715377/fullmycorrhizafungifunctional traitsAMF dikaryosislife history strategieshyphal growth
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Edward Umberto Serghi
Vasilis Kokkoris
Vasilis Kokkoris
Calvin Cornell
Jeremy Dettman
Franck Stefani
Nicolas Corradi
spellingShingle Edward Umberto Serghi
Vasilis Kokkoris
Vasilis Kokkoris
Calvin Cornell
Jeremy Dettman
Franck Stefani
Nicolas Corradi
Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy
Frontiers in Plant Science
mycorrhiza
fungi
functional traits
AMF dikaryosis
life history strategies
hyphal growth
author_facet Edward Umberto Serghi
Vasilis Kokkoris
Vasilis Kokkoris
Calvin Cornell
Jeremy Dettman
Franck Stefani
Nicolas Corradi
author_sort Edward Umberto Serghi
title Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy
title_short Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy
title_full Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy
title_fullStr Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy
title_full_unstemmed Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy
title_sort homo- and dikaryons of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus rhizophagus irregularis differ in life history strategy
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Plant Science
issn 1664-462X
publishDate 2021-08-01
description Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate plant symbionts that have the potential to improve crop yield. These multinucleate organisms are either “homokaryotic” or “dikaryotic”. In AMF dikaryons, thousands of nuclei originating from two parental strains coexist in the same cytoplasm. In other fungi, homokaryotic and dikaryotic strains show distinct life history traits (LHTs), such as variation in growth rates and fitness. However, how such traits compare between dikaryons and homokaryons of AMF is unknown. To address this, we measured 20 LHT of four dikaryons and five homokaryons of the model fungus Rhizophagus irregularis across root organ cultures of three host plants (carrot, chicory, and tobacco). Our analyses show that dikaryons have clearly distinct life history strategies (LHSs) compared to homokaryons. In particular, spores of homokaryons germinate faster and to a higher proportion than dikaryons, whereas dikaryons grow significantly faster and create a more complex hyphal network irrespective of host plant species. Our study links AMF nuclear status with key LHT with possible implications for mycorrhizal symbiotic functioning.
topic mycorrhiza
fungi
functional traits
AMF dikaryosis
life history strategies
hyphal growth
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.715377/full
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