Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Plant-Microorganism Interactions: Effects
on the Tolerance of Plants to Biotic and
Abiotic Stresses
Muriel da Silva Folli-Pereira, Lydice Sant'Anna Meira-Haddad,
Cristina Maria Nobre Sobral de Vilhena da Cruz Houghton and
Maria Catarina Megumi Kasuya
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish mutualistic symbiosis
(arbuscular mycorrhiza—AM), with the roots of most species of terrestrial plants,
acting as a bridge between the soil and plants. AMF are critical in the establish-
ment and adaptation of plants in locations severely disturbed. They affect also the
physico-chemical properties of substrate and act for the formation and maintenance
of soil structure, acting in the aggregation of soil particles. The AM occurs in the
roots of most plants, promoting improvements in the growth and development of
plants and increase in tolerance and/or plant resistance to various adverse environ-
mental agents and can also be used as a potential biological control agent of plant
diseases. The different responses of plants to this symbiosis can be assigned to the
functional diversity of AM, depending of the interaction between AMF, plants and
environmental conditions. The establishment and functioning of MAs during stress
conditions involves a complex process of recognition and development, concur-
rently at physiological, biochemical and molecular changes in both symbionts. In
addition, mycorrhizal colonization of roots has a significant impact on the gene
expression of several plants that encode proteins presumably involved in tolerance
to stress. In this context, whereas the AMF are essential in the establishment and
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