Growth and metal accumulation of mycorrhizal sorghum exposed to elevated copper and zinc

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) alter heavy metal acquisition by higher plants and may alter plant response to soil-contaminating heavy metals. Two communities comprised of Glomus intraradices and G. spurcum were investigated for their influence on copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) resistance of Sorghum bicolor. One community was isolated from a Cu- and Zn-contaminated soil (AMF-C) and one consisted of isolates from non-contaminated soil (AMF-NC). Non-mycorrhizal (NM) sorghum plants were also included. The two community ecotypes differed in their capacity to protect sorghum from Cu and Zn toxicity and exhibited differential metal uptake into hyphae and altered heavy metal uptake by roots and translocation to plant shoots. AMF-C reduced Cu acquisition under elevated Cu conditions, but increased Cu uptake and translocation by sorghum under normal Cu conditions, patterns not exhibited by AMF-NC or NM plants. Hyphae of both fungal ecotypes accumulated high concentrations of Cu under Cu exposure. AMF-C exhibited elevated hyphal Zn accumulation and stimulated Zn uptake and translocation in sorghum plants compared to AMF-NC and NM plants. Differences in metal resistance between fungal treatments and between mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants were not related to differences in nutrient relations. The enhanced Cu resistance of sorghum and altered patterns of Cu and Zn translocation to shoots facilitated by AMF isolated from the metal-contaminated soil highlight the potential for metal-adapted AMF to increase the phytoremediation potential of mycotrophic plants on metal-contaminated environments.