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Survival strategies of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Cu-polluted environments

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Abstract

This review provides an overview of the mechanisms evolved by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to survive in Cu-contaminated environments. These mechanisms include avoidance strategies to restrict entry of toxic levels of Cu into their cytoplasm, intracellular complexation of the metal in the cytosol and compartmentalization strategies. Through the activity of specific metal transporters, the excess of Cu is translocated to subcellular compartments, mainly vacuoles, where it would cause less damage. At the level of the fungal colony, AM fungi have also evolved compartmentalization strategies based on the accumulation of Cu into specific fungal structures, such as extraradical spores and intraradical vesicles. In addition to the avoidance and compartmentalization strategies, AM fungi have also mechanisms to combat the Cu-generated oxidative stress or to repair the damage induced.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Arbuscular mycorrhiza

EDXS:

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

GRSP:

Glomalin-related soil proteins

GSH:

Glutathione

GST:

Glutathione S-tranferase

H2DCF-DA:

2′,7′-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate

MTs:

Metallothioneins

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SODs:

Superoxide dismutases

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa of the Andalusian Autonomic Government (Ref. P06-CVI-02263) for financial support of part of the work reported here. Karim Benabdellah was supported by an I3P contract from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiología del Suelo y Sistemas Simbióticos, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, 18008, Granada, Spain

    Nuria Ferrol, Manuel González-Guerrero, Ascensión Valderas, Karim Benabdellah & Concepción Azcón-Aguilar

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  1. Nuria Ferrol
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  2. Manuel González-Guerrero
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  3. Ascensión Valderas
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  4. Karim Benabdellah
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  5. Concepción Azcón-Aguilar
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Correspondence to Nuria Ferrol.

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Ferrol, N., González-Guerrero, M., Valderas, A. et al. Survival strategies of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Cu-polluted environments. Phytochem Rev 8, 551–559 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-009-9133-9

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