Carey Peter D, Fitter Alastair H, Watkinson Andrew R
School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
Department of Biology, University of York, YO1 5DD, York, UK.
Oecologia. 1992 Jul;90(4):550-555. doi: 10.1007/BF01875449.
The effect of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) on the fecundity ofVulpia ciliata ssp.ambigua was investigated at two field sites in eastern England by applying the fungicide benomyl to reduce VAM infection. The application of benomyl at the two sites produced very different results. At one site the application of the fungicide reduced the fecundity of plants whereas at the other fecundity was increased. At the first site the reduction in fecundity was linked to a significant reduction in VAM infection on the sprayed plants. The mechanism of the benefit associated with the VAM infection is however unclear: there was no treatment effect on morphology or on phosphorus inflow. At the second site, where fecundity was increased, there was only a negligible amount of VAM infection amongst the unsprayed plants and it is suggested that the increase in fecundity with the application of benomyl may have resulted from a reduction in infection by other, presumably pathogenic, fungi. The value of VAM fungi to the host plant may therefore not be restricted to physiological benefits. They may also provide protection to the plant by competing for space with other species of pathogenic fungi.
通过施用杀菌剂苯菌灵以减少泡囊丛枝菌根（VAM）感染，在英格兰东部的两个田间地点研究了VAM对狐尾草亚种（Vulpia ciliata ssp. ambigua）繁殖力的影响。在这两个地点施用苯菌灵产生了截然不同的结果。在一个地点，施用杀菌剂降低了植物的繁殖力，而在另一个地点繁殖力却增加了。在第一个地点，繁殖力的降低与喷洒植物上VAM感染的显著减少有关。然而，与VAM感染相关的益处的机制尚不清楚：对形态或磷流入没有处理效果。在第二个地点，繁殖力增加，未喷洒植物中只有少量的VAM感染，并且有人认为施用苯菌灵后繁殖力的增加可能是由于其他大概是致病真菌的感染减少所致。因此，VAM真菌对寄主植物的价值可能不仅限于生理益处。它们还可能通过与其他致病真菌争夺空间来为植物提供保护。
