Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi reverse selenium stress in Zea mays seedlings by improving plant and soil characteristics

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Nov 19;228:113000. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.113000. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSelenium (Se) is a beneficial trace element for certain animals including humans, while remaining controversial for plants. High Se concentration in soil is toxic to plants especially at seedling stage of the plants. Although, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important for plant stress resistance; but the mechanisms by which AMF alleviate Se stress in crop seedlings are unclear. Therefore, we investigated the potential strategies of AMF symbiosis to alleviate Se stress in maize (Zea mays) from plants and soil perspectives. Results showed that Se stress (Se application level > 5 mg kg-1) significantly inhibited leaf area, shoot dry weight, and root dry weight of maize (P < 0.05). In contrast, AM symbiosis significantly improved root morphology, increased nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition, promoted shoot growth, inhibited the transport of Se from soil/roots to shoots, and then diluted the concentration of Se in shoots (32.65-52.80%). In general, the response of maize growth to AMF was mainly observed in shoots rather than roots. In addition, AMF inoculation significantly increased the easily extractable glomalin-related soil protein and organic matter contents and decreased the availability of soil Se to the plant. Principal component analysis showed that AMF promoted growth and nutrition uptake of maize was the most dominant effect of Se stress alleviati...
Source: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: research