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Effects of three AM fungi on growth, distribution of glandular hairs, and essential oil production in Ocimum basilicum L. var. Genovese

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Abstract

The essential oils of basil are widely used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food, and flavoring industries. Little is known about the potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi to affect their production in this aromatic plant. The effects of colonization by three AM fungi, Glomus mosseae BEG 12, Gigaspora margarita BEG 34, and Gigaspora rosea BEG 9 on shoot and root biomass, abundance of glandular hairs, and essential oil yield of Ocimum basilicum L. var. Genovese were studied. Plant P content was analyzed in the various treatments and no differences were observed. The AM fungi induced various modifications in the considered parameters, but only Gi. rosea significantly affected all of them in comparison to control plants or the other fungal treatments. It significantly increased biomass, root branching and length, and the total amount of essential oil (especially α-terpineol). Increased oil yield was associated to a significantly larger number of peltate glandular trichomes (main sites of essential oil synthesis) in the basal and central leaf zones. Furthermore, Gi. margarita and Gi. rosea increased the percentage of eugenol and reduced linalool yield. Results showed that different fungi can induce different effects in the same plant and that the essential oil yield can be modulated according to the colonizing AM fungus.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Prof. L. Ariati and Dr. A. Carretta for useful discussion of the data; Dr. H. Vierheilig and his group for preview of their manuscript; Dr. E. Costa for the use of SEM facilities; Dr. Giulio Lanati for his precious help throughout the experiments; and Dr. E. Gamalero for critical reading of the manuscript.

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Ambiente e della Vita, Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, via Bellini 25/G, Alessandria, I-15100, Italy

    Andrea Copetta, Guido Lingua & Graziella Berta

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  1. Andrea Copetta
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Correspondence to Graziella Berta.

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Copetta, A., Lingua, G. & Berta, G. Effects of three AM fungi on growth, distribution of glandular hairs, and essential oil production in Ocimum basilicum L. var. Genovese . Mycorrhiza 16, 485–494 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-006-0065-6

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