Impact of Funneliformis mosseae on the growth, Pb uptake and localization of Sophora viciifolia L.

On the basis of pot experiment under Pb stress, we investigated the effects of AM fungi (Funneliformis mosseae) on the growth and Pb uptake of Sophora viciifolia L., and explored the Pb localization in arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) roots using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed high Pb levels (500 and 1,000 μg/g) inhibited the growth of S. viciifolia seedlings. The root length, fork number, tip number, surface area and volume of mycorrhizal S. viciifolia were higher than those of the corresponding non-mycorrhizal plants. The ratio of root length with diameters between 0~0.2 mm to the total root length significantly increased under Pb stress, and F. mosseae inoculation significantly reduced the ratio. Under Pb stress, F. mosseae increased the ratios of root length with 0.61~0.8 and 0.81~1.0 mm diameters to the total root length, indicating that F. mosseae tended to thicken the roots of S. viciifolia under Pb additions. The combined results of TEM and EDS indicated that Pb deposited in not only plant cells, but also the cell walls and vacuoles of the AM fungal intracellular hyphae, which revealing the subcellular level mechanism of AM fungi in alleviating the Pb toxicity to host plant.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author