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The influence of mycorrhization on the growth of Zea mays L. and the sclerification of foliar tissues susceptible to chewing insect attacks

  • Biochemistry & Physiology - Original Article
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Abstract

The interrelationships between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plants have been the subject of numerous studies; however, whether these mutualistic associations are capable of producing structural defenses in plants for pest control remains to be determined. The present study evaluated the influence of AMF on the sclerification of foliar tissues of corn and related it to insect attack. Corn plants were grown in 5.5-L pots containing soil/sand (sterile, fertilized, pH corrected) in a greenhouse. Mycorrhized plants received propagules of native AMF; non-mycorrhized plants received soil filtrate of AMF-free soil. Some of the plants of both treatments were collected at 40 days post-emergence, while others were collected at 50 days and 60 days. Height and dry mass of the aerial part and dry mass of radicular part were evaluated. The median region of leaves of the fourth (basal) and seventh (cartridge) leaf nodes was transversally sectioned, and the sections stained, mounted in semi-permanent medium and analyzed under a microscope to measure variables related to tissue organization and sclerification. Mycorrhized plants had greater height and aerial-part dry mass. Mycorrhization influenced nine of the 15 anatomical variables analyzed with increased lignified tissue in at least one of the growth stages. It can be concluded that colonization of corn roots by AMF promotes sclerification of leaf tissues and, thus, may interfere indirectly with the plant–pest relationship by altering the quality of phytomass available for insects.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Western Paraná State University (Unioeste) for providing their facilities, equipment and technical support for this study, in particular Dr. Luis Francisco Angeli Alves (Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory), and Biologist Tainã de Souza, for help in making the anatomical figures of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós Graduação em Biologia Comparada, Laboratório de Fungos Micorrízicos Arbusculares, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Uem), Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Silvana Damin

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Fungos Micorrízicos Arbusculares, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Uem), Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Rosilaine Carrenho

  3. Herbário UNOP, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (Unioeste), Cascavel, Paraná, Brazil

    Shirley Martins

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  1. Silvana Damin
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  2. Rosilaine Carrenho
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  3. Shirley Martins
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the initial study. Planting, cultivation, plant collection, histological slide preparation and data collection were performed by SD, and analyzed together by SD and SMS. The collected data were statistically analyzed by RC, which produced the first draft of the manuscript. Subsequently, all the authors helped in the construction of the versions that consolidated the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Silvana Damin.

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Damin, S., Carrenho, R. & Martins, S. The influence of mycorrhization on the growth of Zea mays L. and the sclerification of foliar tissues susceptible to chewing insect attacks. Braz. J. Bot 43, 493–502 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-020-00621-8

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