Morphological and physiological responses of the external mycelium of Rhizophagus intraradices to water stress

Most studies dealing with mycorrhizal associations and drought have focused on the plants, not on the fungi, and tolerance and adaptations of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to cope with water stress are virtually unknown. This study was conducted to assess how water stress directly affects an AM fungus isolate, particularly through morphological and physiological changes in the external mycelium. We used two-compartment pots separated by mesh and an air gap that allowed us to apply water stress treatments only to the external mycelium. Clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) plants inoculated with Rhizophagus intraradices grew at high humidity until external mycorrhizal mycelium developed in the mycelium compartment. Then, we started three watering treatments: high (H, 70% of soil water holding capacity), low (L, 10%), and mixed watering (HLHL, 70–10–70-10%) only in the hyphal compartment. The HLHL treatment was rewetted once to 70% after 42 days. We measured total mycelium length, hyphal length in diameter categories, respiration activity, and protoplasm fragmentation 42 and 76 days after starting the treatments. Rhizophagus intraradices mycelium responded to water stress by reducing its length, maintaining larger diameter hyphae, and concentrating protoplasm activity in fragments in the HLHL and L treatments. In both water stress treatments, changes suggested a trade-off between avoiding desiccation and storing resources, and maintaining soil exploration and water uptake capacity.