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Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2005; 7(6): 706-712
DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-872893
Research Paper

Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart KG · New York

Quantification of Water Uptake by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Hyphae and its Significance for Leaf Growth, Water Relations, and Gas Exchange of Barley Subjected to Drought Stress

M. A. Khalvati1 , Y. Hu1 , A. Mozafar1 , U. Schmidhalter1
  • 1Chair of Plant Nutrition, Technical University of Munich, Am Hochanger 1, 85350 Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
Further Information

Publication History

Received: April 18, 2005

Accepted: September 1, 2005

Publication Date:
08 November 2005 (online)

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Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviate drought stress in their host plants via the direct uptake and transfer of water and nutrients through the fungal hyphae to the host plants. To quantify the contribution of the hyphae to plant water uptake, a new split-root hyphae system was designed and employed on barley grown in loamy soil inoculated with Glomus intraradices under well-watered and drought conditions in a growth chamber with a 14-h light period and a constant temperature (15 °C; day/night). Drought conditions were initiated 21 days after sowing, with a total of eight 7-day drying cycles applied. Leaf water relations, net photosynthesis rates, and stomatal conductance were measured at the end of each drying cycle. Plants were harvested 90 days after sowing. Compared to the control treatment, the leaf elongation rate and the dry weight of the shoots and roots were reduced in all plants under drought conditions. However, drought resistance was comparatively increased in the mycorrhizal host plants, which suffered smaller decreases in leaf elongation, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and turgor pressure compared to the non-mycorrhizal plants. Quantification of the contribution of the arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae to root water uptake showed that, compared to the non-mycorrhizal treatment, 4 % of water in the hyphal compartment was transferred to the root compartment through the arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae under drought conditions. This indicates that there is indeed transport of water by the arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae under drought conditions. Although only a small amount of water transport from the hyphal compartment was detected, the much higher hyphal density found in the root compartment than in the hyphal compartment suggests that a larger amount of water uptake by the arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae may occur in the root compartment.

Key words

Barley - water uptake - drought - stress - Glomus intraradices - photosynthesis - water relations.

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Y. Hu 

Chair of Plant Nutrition
Technical University of Munich

Am Hochanger 1

85350 Freising-Weihenstephan

Germany

Email: hu@wzw.tum.de

Guest Editor: R. Matyssek

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