Mukherjee, A., and J.M. Ane
Presented at the GLBRC Sustainability Retreat (2010-02-10 to 2010-02-12 )
Availability of water, phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and micronutrients is the major constraint for plant growth and sustainable agriculture. Because of these limitations, there has been an excessive dependence on chemical fertilizers. Ecological, health and economical factors coupled with the need for improved sustainability have made imminent the need to take advantage of beneficial plant-microbe symbioses such as mycorrhization and root nodulation. Unfortunately, no efficient symbiotic association has been found so far between energy crops (maize, switchgrass, Miscanthus) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. However, these plants can form efficient associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. In fact, AM is the most important symbiotic association that benefits host plants by improving the uptake of nutrients (especially phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium) and water from the soil, particularly for plants growing in nutrient-limiting conditions. AM symbiosis also contributes significantly in global phosphate and nitrogen cycling since large residues of N, P would otherwise remain in soils due to inefficient recovery by crops. These residues produce emissions that lead to ozone depletion and global warming.AM also mediates global carbon cycling. However, biotic and abiotic stresses can limit and slow down the establishment of AM. Therefore, improving efficiency and development of AM associations under sub-optimal conditions has tremendous potential for improving agricultural sustainability as well as minimizing environmental hazards. Our goals are to characterize the molecular signals and the genetic pathways controlling the establishment and development of AM in energy relevant monocotyledonous plants. By understanding the role of plant genes involved in the establishment of AM symbiosis, use of chemical fertilizers will be managed more efficiently. Improved fertilizer management would lead to decrease in costs and pollution associated with fertilizer applications.
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