Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the occurrence of flavonoids in roots of passion fruit seedlings

Abstract

Composition and the role of root flavonoids in the regulation of mycorrhizal symbiosis are still poorly understood. Several flavonoids stimulate spore germination, mycelia growth and root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and both root colonization and flavonoid composition are affected by plant nutritional status. Effects of AMF on the occurrence and content of aromatic secondary metabolites in the roots of passion fruit seedlings grown under two levels of phosphorus (P) fertilization (10 and 50 mg kg-1 of phosphorus) was studied. Seedlings were inoculated with Glomus clarum and a population of native fungi from a passion fruit plantation. Methanolic extracts of passion fruit seedlings roots were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was recorded the occurrence of several compounds, possibly flavonoids, with seven major peaks. The root contents of the compound with a retention time of 4.5 minutes, varied in response to the root colonization by different mycorrhizal fungi, and the contents of two compounds with retention times of 3.4 and 18.9 minutes varied due to the poor plant growth and nutritional status. Passion fruit seedlings have several aromatic compounds, and their contents were correlated with root colonization by different mycorrhizal fungi, the reduced seedling growth due to nutritional stress, and/or the plant defense responses to the fungi.