Research on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in ultramafic soils has principally focused on ecological restoration whereas little attention has been given to agriculture. The present study aims at understanding if mixtures of different AMF species from a New Caledonian ultramafic soil induced a better plant fitness and lower contents of potentially toxic metals in aerial parts of a crop plant than single species inoculants. Sorghum vulgare plants were inoculated using six AMF species separately and in different mixtures of these species in a glasshouse experiment in ultramafic soil. The tested inocula showed very different effects on plant fitness. Results highlight that, when sorghum is grown in ultramafic soil, AMF mixes were more efficient than single species inoculation in alleviating abiotic stresses by reducing translocation of potentially toxic metals to the aerial part of the plant and thereby improving the fitness of the plants. Our findings point out the utility of arbuscular mycorrhizal biotechnology for agricultural ultramafic soils.

超镁铁质土壤中的丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）的研究主要集中在生态恢复上，而对农业的关注却很少。本研究旨在了解与新物种相比，来自新喀里多尼亚超镁铁质土壤的不同AMF物种的混合物是否能更好地适应植物生长，并在农作物的空中部分降低了潜在有毒金属的含量。高粱在超镁铁质土壤的温室试验中，分别使用6种AMF物种和这些物种的不同混合物接种了这些植物。经测试的接种物对植物适应性的影响非常不同。结果表明，当高粱在超镁铁质土壤中生长时，通过减少潜在有毒金属向植物地上部的转移，AMF混合物比单种接种更有效地缓解了非生物胁迫。我们的发现指出了丛枝菌根生物技术在农业超镁铁质土壤中的实用性。