Das Debatosh, Torabi Salar, Chapman Philipp, Gutjahr Caroline
Faculty of Biology, Genetics, LMU Munich, Martinsried, Germany.
Plant Genetics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, Germany.
Front Plant Sci. 2020 Feb 26;11:63. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00063. eCollection 2020.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a widespread symbiosis between plant roots and fungi of the , which improves nutrient uptake by plants. The molecular mechanisms underlying development and function of the symbiosis are subject to increasing research activity. Since AM occurs in the soil, most studies targeting a molecular understanding of AM development and function, use solid substrates for co-cultivating plants and AM fungi. However, for some experiments very clean roots, highly controlled nutrient conditions or applications of defined concentrations of signaling molecules (such as hormones) or other small chemicals (such as synthetic inhibitors or signaling agonists) are needed. To this end, hydroponics has been widely used in research on mechanisms of plant nutrition and some hydroponic systems were developed for AM fungal spore amplification. Here, we present a hydroponics set-up, which can be successfully utilized for experimental root colonization assays. We established a "tip-wick" system based on pipette tips and rock wool wicks for co-cultivation of AM fungi with small model plants such as . A larger "Falcon-wick" system using Falcon tubes and rockwool wicks was developed for larger model plants such as rice. The hydroponic system can also be employed for growing hairy roots after transformation by , thus circumventing the laborious cultivation on agar medium-containing Petri dishes during hairy root development. The tip-wick and Falcon-wick systems are easy to use and can be built with low cost, conventional and reusable lab plastic ware and a simple aquarium pump.
丛枝菌根（AM）是植物根系与球囊菌门真菌之间广泛存在的一种共生关系，它能改善植物对养分的吸收。这种共生关系发育和功能的分子机制正受到越来越多的研究关注。由于AM发生在土壤中，大多数旨在从分子层面理解AM发育和功能的研究，都使用固体基质来共同培养植物和AM真菌。然而，对于一些实验来说，需要非常干净的根系、高度可控的养分条件，或者施加特定浓度的信号分子（如激素）或其他小分子化学物质（如合成抑制剂或信号激动剂）。为此，水培法已广泛应用于植物营养机制的研究，并且开发了一些水培系统用于AM真菌孢子扩增。在此，我们展示一种水培装置，它可成功用于实验性根系定殖分析。我们基于移液管尖端和岩棉灯芯建立了一个“尖端灯芯”系统，用于将AM真菌与小型模式植物（如拟南芥）共同培养。还开发了一种更大的“Falcon灯芯”系统，它使用Falcon管和岩棉灯芯，用于培养像水稻这样的大型模式植物。该水培系统也可用于在发根农杆菌转化后培养毛状根，从而避免了在毛状根发育过程中在含琼脂培养基的培养皿上进行费力的培养。尖端灯芯和Falcon灯芯系统易于使用，并且可以用低成本的常规可重复使用的实验室塑料制品和一个简单的水族箱泵构建而成。
