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Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Protect a Native Plant from Allelopathic Effects of an Invader

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Abstract

The allelopathic potential of the Eurasian invasive plant Alliaria petiolata has been well documented, with the bulk of the effects believed to be mediated by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We exposed the herbaceous annual Impatiens pallida, which is native to North America, to fractionated A. petiolata extracts at four developmental stages (germination, presymbiosis growth, symbiosis formation, and symbiosis growth) by using exposure levels expected to be similar to field levels. Surprisingly, we found strong direct effects on I. pallida germination and growth, but no indirect effects on I. pallida growth mediated by AMF. We also observed strong synergistic effects with a complete A. petiolata extract that inhibited I. pallida germination and presymbiosis root growth more than either a glucosinolate or flavonoid enriched fraction alone. In fact, the flavonoid enriched fraction tended to stimulate germination and presymbiosis root growth. In contrast to these strong direct effects, I. pallida plant growth during both the symbiosis formation and symbiosis growth phases was unaffected by A. petiolata extracts. We also found no inhibition of AMF colonization of roots or soils by A. petiolata extracts. We show that AMF can actually ameliorate allelopathic effects of an invasive plant, and suggest that previously observed allelopathic effects of A. petiolata may be due to direct inhibition of plant and fungal growth before symbiosis formation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Eusondia Arnett, Steph Enright, and Cherissa Rainey for help in the lab, and Sarah Tebbens and Chris Barton for helpful discussions about fractal analysis. Helpful comments from two anonymous reviewers improved the manuscript. Funding was provided by an Environmental Protection Agency Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship to K Barto (#91673701).

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  1. Kathryn Barto

    Present address: Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Plant Ecology, Altensteinstraße 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA

    Kathryn Barto & Don Cipollini

  2. Department of Biology, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH, 45469, USA

    Carl Friese

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  1. Kathryn Barto
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Correspondence to Kathryn Barto.

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Barto, K., Friese, C. & Cipollini, D. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Protect a Native Plant from Allelopathic Effects of an Invader. J Chem Ecol 36, 351–360 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9768-4

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