Diverse mycorrhizal maize inbred lines diferentially modulate mycelial traits and the expression of plant and fungal phosphate transporters

Food production is heavily dependent on soil phosphorus (P), a non-renewable mineral resource essential for plant growth and development. Alas, about 80% is unavailable for plant uptake. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi may promote soil P efcient use, although the mechanistic aspects are yet to be completely understood. In this study, plant and fungal variables involved in P acquisition were investigated in maize inbred lines, difering for mycorrhizal responsiveness and low-P tolerance, when inoculated with the symbiont Rhizoglomus irregulare (synonym Rhizophagus irregularis). The expression patterns of phosphate transporter (PT) genes in extraradical and intraradical mycelium (ERM/IRM) and in mycorrhizal and control maize roots were assessed, together with plant growth responses and ERM extent and structure. The diverse maize lines difered in plant and fungal accumulation patterns of PT transcripts, ERM phenotypic traits and plant performance. Mycorrhizal plants of the low-P tolerant maize line Mo17 displayed increased expression of roots and ERM PT genes, compared with the low-P susceptible line B73, which revealed larger ERM hyphal densities and interconnectedness. ERM structural traits showed signifcant correlations with plant/fungal expression levels of PT genes and mycorrhizal host beneft, suggesting that both structural and functional traits are diferentially involved in the regulation of P foraging capacity in mycorrhizal networks.