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ABSTRACT
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was considered as a biotechnological tool for plant stress tolerance improvement and degraded ecosystem restoration. However, the variations in the effects of AMF species and abundance on plant performance under stress condition have to be still investigated. The study was conducted to evaluate the mechanisms of five AMF species, single or mixture, on Leymus chinensis stress tolerance along a saline-alkaline gradient. The results showed that AMF enhanced plant stress tolerance by promoting plant growth, enhancing nutrient absorption, maintaining ion balance, and improving photosynthetic efficiency. Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices and the mixture treatments had more beneficial effects than Diversispora versiformis and Acaulospora scrobiculata inoculations. Plant grown under high stress level exhibited more benefits from AMF symbiosis. Our study suggests that not only presence of AMF, but also the species and abundance should be considered to reveal the exact effects of AMF on plant saline-alkaline tolerance and degraded grassland restoration.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our special thanks to Dr. Yanhong Xiao, Dr. Songtao Yang and Lingyue Yang (Northeast Normal University) for taking care of the pot culture experiment and assisting in the determination of various parameters.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
ZL and YY participated in the design and coordination of the study. YC, XW, AZ, YW and YY carried out the experiment. XW, ZL and YY performed the statistical analysis. ZL and YY prepared the draft for the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Funding
Notes on contributors
Yaping Cao
Yaping Cao and Yue Weng are postgraduate students from Northeast Normal University (China), and have vast research experience in discipline of Plant Science and Microbiology.
Xuefeng Wu
Xuefeng Wu and Anastasiia Zhukova are doctoral candidates, majoring in Grassland Science and Microbiology.
Anastasiia Zhukova
Xuefeng Wu and Anastasiia Zhukova are doctoral candidates, majoring in Grassland Science and Microbiology.
Zhanhui Tang
Zhanhui Tang and Zhenxin Li are working as Associate Professors in School of Environment, Northeast Normal University (China).
Yue Weng
Yaping Cao and Yue Weng are postgraduate students from Northeast Normal University (China), and have vast research experience in discipline of Plant Science and Microbiology.
Zhenxin Li
Zhanhui Tang and Zhenxin Li are working as Associate Professors in School of Environment, Northeast Normal University (China).
Yurong Yang
Yurong Yang is an Assistant Professor in Heavy metal Pollution Science and Microbiology. Authorship of one book and more than 15 academic papers make it prominent in his field.