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Combined effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and exogenous cytokinins on pomegranate (Punica granatum) under two contrasting water availability conditions

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Abstract

To our knowledge, there are no studies on the interactive effects of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and cytokinin addition to plants under drought stress. We investigated the potential protective effect of arbuscular mycorrhizae on pomegranate plants, combined with exogenous cytokinin addition, under two contrasting soil water availability regimes. Our results showed that exogenous cytokinin addition enhances plant biomass, shoot to root ratio and water content, as well as increasing the anthocyanin content. However, a combination of AM fungal inoculation and cytokinin addition did not result in a synergistic protective effect against water stress. Plants were equally well protected against this stress by cytokinin spraying alone. The improvement of pomegranate growth was due mainly to exogenous cytokinin addition. Photosynthesis was promoted both by mycorrhizal inoculation alone and by exogenous cytokinin addition. The main protection against oxidative stress caused by drought was via enhanced accumulation of anthocyanins when the plants were sprayed with cytokinins. When cytokinins were used, the photosynthesis apparatus was also protected.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge to Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (MINCyT) and Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, 4to piso, Pabellón 2, C1428EGA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M. J. Bompadre, L. Fernández Bidondo, V. A. Silvani, R. P. Colombo, M. Pérgola & A. M. Godeas

  2. Laboratorio de Micología Molecular, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Roque Sáenz Peña 352, Bernal, B1876BXD, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    A. G. Pardo

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  1. M. J. Bompadre
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  2. L. Fernández Bidondo
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  3. V. A. Silvani
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  4. R. P. Colombo
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  5. M. Pérgola
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  6. A. G. Pardo
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  7. A. M. Godeas
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Correspondence to M. J. Bompadre.

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Bompadre, M.J., Fernández Bidondo, L., Silvani, V.A. et al. Combined effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and exogenous cytokinins on pomegranate (Punica granatum) under two contrasting water availability conditions. Symbiosis 65, 55–63 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-015-0318-2

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