| This scientific abstract suggests that if BioVam was subjected to cold temperatures for at least 14 days that increased spore germination can be expected when BioVam is applied to the roots of plants. Glomus Intraradicies is the most numerous mycorrhizal fungi in BioVam. |
Breaking dormancy in spores of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices: a critical cold-storage period.
Christine Juge1 , Julie Samson1, Claudia Bastien1, Horst Vierheilig1, Andrew Coughlan1 and Yves Piché1
| (1) | Centre de Recherche en Biologie Forestière, Pavillon C.-E.-Marchand, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Québec G1K-7P4, Canada |
Abstract. To elucidate the effect of cold storage on spore dormancy in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices, spores were cold stratified at 4°C, for either 0, 3, 7, 14, 90 or 120 days, prior to germination tests at 25°C. The results showed that cold stratification longer than 14 days significantly increased spore germination. Moreover, the longer cold storage periods clearly reduced spore mortality from 90% to 50% and considerably altered the hyphal growth pattern. Long polarized hyphae were only observed after cold stratification periods longer than 14 days, involving consequences for root infectivity. The results clearly show that environmental factors, e.g., coldness, can affect the physiology of AM fungal spores.
Keywords. Germination - Dormancy - Growth pattern - Mycorrhiza - Glomales - Cold Storage - Cold Stratification