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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2000, p. 2526-2530, Vol. 66, No. 6
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Effects of Metal Phytoextraction Practices on the Indigenous Community of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi at a Metal-Contaminated Landfill

Teresa E. Pawlowska,1,dagger Rufus L. Chaney,2 Mel Chin,3 and Iris Charvat1,*

Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 551081; Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center West, Beltsville, Maryland 207052; and 125 Rivington St., New York, New York 100023

Received 17 November 1999/Accepted 6 April 2000

Phytoextraction involves use of plants to remove toxic metals from soil. We examined the effects of phytoextraction practices with three plant species (Silene vulgaris, Thlaspi caerulescens, and Zea mays) and a factorial variation of soil amendments (either an ammonium or nitrate source of nitrogen and the presence or absence of an elemental sulfur supplement) on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Glomales, Zygomycetes) at a moderately metal-contaminated landfill located in St. Paul, Minn. Specifically, we tested whether the applied treatments affected the density of glomalean spores and AM root colonization in maize. Glomalean fungi from the landfill were grouped into two morphotypes characterized by either light-colored spores (LCS) or dark-colored spores (DCS). Dominant species of the LCS morphotype were Glomus mosseae and an unidentified Glomus sp., whereas the DCS morphotype was dominated by Glomus constrictum. The density of spores of the LCS morphotype from the phytoremediated area was lower than the density of these spores in the untreated landfill soil. Within the experimental area, spore density of the LCS morphotype in the rhizosphere of mycorrhizal maize was significantly higher than in rhizospheres of nonmycorrhizal S. vulgaris or T. caerulescens. Sulfur supplement increased vesicular root colonization in maize and exerted a negative effect on spore density in maize rhizosphere. We conclude that phytoextraction practices, e.g., the choice of plant species and soil amendments, may have a great impact on the quantity and species composition of glomalean propagules as well as on mycorrhiza functioning during long-term metal-remediation treatments.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 220 Biological Sciences Center, 1445 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108-1095. Phone: (612) 625-3199. Fax: (612) 625-1738. E-mail: charv001{at}maroon.tc.umn.edu.

dagger Present address: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2000, p. 2526-2530, Vol. 66, No. 6
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.