Interaction between phosphate fertilizer and soil microbial diversity in the plant colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

• Grant number: 16/21596-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): February 21, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Dini Andreote
• Grantee: Bruna Arruda
• Home Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/14373-7 - Microbial community interaction and its effect on the phosphorus cycling in native soils from Brazil and United Kingdom, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

In highly weathered tropical soils, phosphorus (P) is not widely available, becoming the symbiotic associations with mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as a beneficial nutrient acquisition strategy. In general, microbial community interacts strongly with FMA, affecting mycorrhizal colonization in host plants. However, there is a lack of information about the interaction of microbial community with AMF under different phosphorus availabilities. The objective of this project is to understand the dynamics of different soil microbial communities and the FMA under phosphate application. First, there will be an experiment to select two host plants starting from six plant species, inoculated with three AMF species: Rhizophagus clarus (= Glomus clarum); Dentiscutata heterogama (=Scutellospora heterogama) and Acalouspora scrobiculata, evaluating mycorrhizal colonization by qPCR technique (quantitative PCR). Second, the two selected plants will be inoculated with three AMF species in systems containing different levels of microbial community diversity, induced by: i) dilution (10-1 10-3 or 10-6); and ii) by heat treatment (50, 80 or 100 degree Celsius for one hour), where the mycorrhizal colonization rate will be evaluated. Finally, six experiments (2x3) will be conducted involving: the two selected plants and the three AMF species, under five dosages of P, via triple superphosphate. The variables to analyze are: mycorrhizal colonization rate by plant species, structure of bacterial and fungal communities, P content in plant tissue and soil, in order to evaluate if P fertilization can minimize the impact of mycorrhizal colonization by the reduction of microbial diversity, and if there is any plant assimilation of P added.