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Do ectomycorrhizal fungi exhibit adaptive tolerance to potentially toxic metals in the environment ?

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Abstract

The effects of potentially toxic metals on ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and their higher plant hosts are examined in this review. Investigations at a species and community level have revealed wide inter- and intraspecific variation in sensitivity to metals. Adaptive and constitutive mechanisms of ECM tolerance are proposed and discussed in relation to proven tolerance mechanisms in bacteria, yeasts and plants. Problems with methodology and research priorities are highlighted. These include the need for a detailed understanding of the genetic basis of tolerance in the ECM symbiosis, and for studies of ECM community dynamics in polluted sites.

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  1. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE17 2LS, UK

    Jeanette Hartley & Andrew A. Meharg

  2. Department of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Jeanette Hartley

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Nepean, P.O. Box 10, Kingswood, NSW, 2747, Australia

    John W.G. Cairney

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Hartley, J., Cairney, J.W. & Meharg, A.A. Do ectomycorrhizal fungi exhibit adaptive tolerance to potentially toxic metals in the environment ?. Plant and Soil 189, 303–319 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004255006170

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