Almost all land plants form symbiotic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Individual plants usually are colonized by a wide range of phylogenetically diverse AMF species. The impact that different AMF taxa have on plant growth is only partly understood. We screened 44 AMF isolates for their effect on growth promotion and nutrient uptake of leek plants (Allium porrum), including isolates that have not been tested previously. In particular, we aimed to test weather AMF lineages with an ancient evolutionary age differ from relatively recent lineages in their effects on leek plants. The AMF isolates that were tested covered 18 species from all five AMF orders, eight families, and 13 genera. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse. A soil–sand mixture was used as substrate for the leek plants. Plant growth response to inoculation with AMF varied from − 19 to 232% and depended on isolate, species, and family identity. Species from the ancient families Archaeosporaceae and Paraglomeraceae tended to be less beneficial, in terms of stimulation plant growth and nutrient uptake, than species of Glomeraceae, Entrophosporaceae, and Diversisporaceae, which are considered phylogenetically more recent than those ancient families. Root colonization levels also depended on AMF family. This study indicates that plant benefit in the symbiosis between plants and AMF is linked to fungal identity and phylogeny and it shows that there are large differences in effectiveness of different AMF.

几乎所有的陆地植物都与丛枝菌根真菌 (AMF) 形成共生关系。单个植物通常被广泛的系统发育多样化的 AMF 物种定殖。不同 AMF 类群对植物生长的影响只是部分了解。我们筛选了 44 株 AMF 分离株，了解它们对韭菜植物（Allium porrum)，包括以前未测试过的分离株。特别是，我们旨在测试具有远古进化时代的 AMF 谱系与相对较新的谱系对韭菜植物的影响不同。测试的 AMF 分离株涵盖了来自所有 5 个 AMF 目、8 个科和 13 个属的 18 个物种。实验在温室中进行。土壤-沙子混合物用作韭菜植物的基质。植物对接种 AMF 的生长反应从 - 19% 到 232% 不等，取决于分离株、物种和科的特性。就刺激植物生长和养分吸收而言，来自古老科古孢子科和副球菌科的物种往往不如球囊菌科、内孢子菌科和杂孢菌科的物种有益，它们在系统发育上被认为比那些古老的家族更近。根定植水平也取决于 AMF 家族。该研究表明，植物与 AMF 共生的植物益处与真菌特性和系统发育有关，表明不同 AMF 的有效性存在很大差异。