Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization in Lupinus and related genera

Abstract

Lupinus and related genera were investigated in order to determine why arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi do not colonize non-host plants. Thirty-six plant species of Lupinus and ten plant species in seven related genera were inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Gigaspora margarita and Glomus mosseae. The mycorrhizal colonization and growth of these plants were examined at 50 to 89 d after inoculation. No arbuscule formation was observed in any of the Lupinus species. Growth of external hyphae was observed in thirty-three species of Lupinus, vesicles were observed in two species and internal hyphae were observed in eight species. All ten plant species belonging to related genera were colonized with mycorrhizal fungi. These results suggest that only Lupinus in the tribe Genisteae, family Leguminosae is a non-host plant for arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. © 2001 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.