Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play potentially essential roles in maintaining the diversity and functioning of plant communities in Eurasian steppe representing one of the most important terrestrial ecosystems. However, it remains unclear about the symbiotic relationship between AM fungal communities and the dominant grass species in the steppe ecosystem. We thus examined the species diversity and community composition of AM fungi colonizing three dominant plant species (Leymus chinensis, Stipa grandis and Cleistogenes squarrosa), using field sampling and molecular analyses, in Xilinguole steppe, Inner Mongolia. Our results showed all three plants were well colonized by AM fungi, and 51 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to six genera with members of Glomus dominating in the roots of all the three plants species. By comparison, we found that L. chinensis had the most diverse AM fungi within the roots. OTU richness of AM fungi was higher in the roots of S. grandis than in the roots of C. squarrosa and L. chinensis. However, the community composition of AM fungi in three host plant species showed no significant difference. Based on these findings, we concluded that the dominant plant species held diverse AM fungal taxa in their roots, while the host preference did not significantly drive the differences in AM funga l community composition within their roots and resulted in low host specificity. Findings of this study would broaden the concept of host specificity and its implications on plant succession in the largest grassland ecosystem of China.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Muhammad Atif Muneer (2019) studied this question.