Abstract
To investigate the possible natural development of heavy metal tolerance in VA-mycorrhizal fungi, plants of Agrostis capillaris from an uncontaminated, a copper-contaminated and a zinc/cadmium-contaminated area were examined for VA-mycorrhizal infection. During a period of 5 years (1987 to 1991) the plants of the copper-tolerant population were hardly infected, whereas the population on the uncontaminated soil showed a mean infection of nearly 60% and the zinc/cadmium-tolerant population of 40%. A detailed analysis of the surroundings of the copper-enriched site revealed the presence of VA-mycorrhizal fungi and a negative correlation between the infection rate of A. capillaris and the copper content of the soil. In contrast to the copper-contaminated soil, the abundant presence of VA-mycorrhizal fungi in the area contaminated by zinc and cadmium indicates that these fungi have evolved a zinc and cadmium tolerance and that they may play a role in the zinc and cadmium tolerance of A. capillaris.
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Griffioen, W.A.J., Ietswaart, J.H. & Ernst, W.H.O. Mycorrhizal infection of an Agrostis capillaris population on a copper contaminated soil. Plant Soil 158, 83–89 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007920
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007920