Abstract
Effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and phosphorus (P) application on arsenic (As) toxicity were studied in a rhizobox system with As-contaminated soil collected from Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The treatments consisted of a combination of two levels of AM (Glomus aggregatum) inoculation (-AM and +AM) and two levels of P application (-P and +P at 30 mg P kg-1). Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seedlings were cultured in rhizoboxes for 6 weeks. Rates of root AM infection in +AM treatments were about 40% regardless of P application. AM inoculation as well as P application reduced As toxicity symptoms, most clearly so in the +AM-P treatment. Plant growth was highest in the +AM + P treatment. Shoot As concentrations were slightly reduced by AM inoculation but enhanced by P application. Shoot P concentration in the +AM-P treatment was similar to that of +P treatments and was higher than in -AM-P. Analyses of rhizosphere soils at the end of the cultivation period indicated that P application increased water-soluble As (WS-As) in all compartments while AM inoculation increased WS-As in the central compartment only. Both the WS-arsenite [WS-As(III)] and the dominant form, arsenate [WS-As (V)], showed gradients toward the root surface. Dimethylarsine (DMAA) was detected in the +AM treatments only. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of DMAA in the mycorrhizosphere. AM inoculation increased WS-P similarly as +P treatments did and promoted acid phosphatase activity in the soil. In conclusion, AM inoculation alleviated the effects of As toxicity by improving P nutrition without increasing As concentrations in the shoots. Moreover, AM appeared to be involved in the transformation of soil inorganic As into less toxic organic forms. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 29-41 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Plant and Soil |
Volume | 290 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2006 |