10.5061/DRYAD.4MW6M90DN
Burkle, Laura
0000-0002-8413-1627
Montana State University
Zabinski, Catherine
Montana State University
Mycorrhizae influence plant vegetative and floral traits and intraspecific
trait variation
Dryad
dataset
2022
FOS: Biological sciences
AMF
functional trait variation
Intraspecific trait variation
plant-pollinator interactions
belowground ecology
Montana State University
https://ror.org/02w0trx84
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
https://ror.org/05qx3fv49
1019015
2022-10-21T00:00:00Z
2022-10-21T00:00:00Z
en
27844 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Premise. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can strongly influence host
plant vegetative growth, but less is known about AMF effects on other
plant traits, the relative impacts of AMF on vegetative growth versus
floral traits, or AMF-induced intraspecific variation in traits. Key
results. AMF species varied in their effects on host plants, from negative
to positive effects. AMF often had inconsistent effects on vegetative
biomass versus floral traits, and therefore quantifying one or the other
may provide a misleading representation of potential AMF effects. AMF
treatments generated key variation in plant traits, especially floral
traits, with potential consequences for plant-pollinator
interactions. Given increased intraspecific trait variation in Linum
lewisii plants across AMF species compared to uninoculated individuals or
single AMF treatments, local AMF diversity and their host plant
associations may scale up to influence community-wide patterns of trait
variation and species interactions. Conclusions. These results have
implications for predicting how aboveground communities are affected by
belowground communities. Including AMF effects on not just host plant
biomass but also functional traits and trait variation will deepen our
understanding of community structure and function, including pollination.
In an experimental greenhouse study, we inoculated seven species of native
perennial wildflowers (Achillea millefolium, Erigeron speciosus, Geranium
viscosissimum, Linum lewisii, Lupinus argenteus, Monarda fistulosa, and
Phacelia hastata) with six species of AMF (Acaulospora morrowiae,
Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Diversispora spurca, Funneliformis mosseae,
Gigaspora gigantea, and Rhizophagus clarus) in a factorial design,
including un-inoculated individuals as controls. Seeds were sourced
locally from the Bridger Plant Materials Center, which has selected and
released large quantities of native wildflower species for pollinator
enhancement plantings for the region (southwest Montana, United States).
In the unlikely event that genetically-related seeds were acquired, they
would have been distributed randomly among treatments by mixing within
large seed batches. Plant species were selected for their known ability to
grow in greenhouse conditions (e.g., Burkle et al., 2020), verified root
associations with AMF (data not shown), requirement for insect pollinators
for seed production (Schaal and Leverich, 1980; Cruden et al., 1984;
Pardee et al., 2018), and diversity of growth forms which may reflect
varying investment strategies and provide some initial insight to the
potential for life history responses to AMF. We grew seven replicates of
each of the species combinations in 1:1 mix of fine sand and topsoil
(pasteurized), for a total of 343 pots (6.9 cm dia x 35.6 cm l). AMF
species were obtained from INVAM (https://invam.ku.edu), and, because of
the lack of tight association at the level of plant species between plant
community composition and AMF community composition (Davison et al., 2011;
Zobel and Öpik, 2014; Horn et al., 2017) species were selected based on
their phylogenetic differences (the six species belonged to five different
families) and potential for ecological differences (Maherali and
Klironomos, 2007; https://invam.ku.edu/species-descriptions). AMF were
maintained in cultures using Sorghum sudanese as a host plant, and
inoculum for the study included soil and colonized root fragments. After
adding 175 mL of the soil mix to the bottom of each pot, the inoculum was
added as 16 mL (1 tablespoon) mixed with 374 mL soil, and covered by an
additional 25 mL of soil. Three seeds of a single species were added to
each pot and allowed to germinate. Lupinus argenteus seeds were scarified
to increase germination. Growth conditions included a day /night
temperature regime averaging 26°C / 15°C and a 16 h photoperiod with
supplemental lighting provided by high pressure sodium lamps. Seedlings
were thinned to one individual between 10 and 14 days after emergence.
Each pot was fertilized once per week with 20 mL of ¼ strength Hoagland’s
solution, beginning 3 weeks after seeding. Pots were randomly arranged on
the bench, and rotated weekly for the duration of the experiment. We
controlled pests with insecticidal soap (Safer brand) as needed. This
experiment ran for 22 weeks, from March 1 to August 12, 2013. We allowed
the experiment to run as long as possible without plant individuals
becoming root-bound; the experiment was terminated when it was clear that
no additional plant individuals would flower during the growing season.
For each plant, we recorded plant survival, and, if the plant flowered, we
recorded date of first bud, date of first flower, height at first flower,
mean flower size (based on width or area of three flowers, depending on
forb species), and flower production (the total number of flowers produced
by the plant). At the end of the study, the aboveground biomass of each
plant was separated into floral biomass and vegetative biomass, dried, and
weighed.