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Mycorrhizae Alter Protein and Lipid Contents and Yield of Pea Seeds

USDA-ARS, Horticultural Crops Res. Lab., 3420 NW Orchard Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97330

^* Corresponding author.

Root colonization by arbuscular-mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may affect seed protein and lipid composition by altering P nutrition or by eliciting metabolic responses by the host plant. These fungi may therefore play a role in plant breeding programs. This study was conducted to determine the effects of an AM fungus and different levels of P availability on seed protein and lipid composition and yield. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants were grown in a greenhouse under different P regimes (0, 1, 2, or 4 g hydroxyapatite kg^–1 soil) with or without the AM fungus Glomus mosseae (Nicol – Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe. At the lowest level of P availability, protein concentration was significantly lower and lipid concentration and seed dry mass were higher in AM than in non-AM plants. Protein/lipid concentration ratios were invariant in non-AM plants at all soil P levels. Those of the AM plants varied, were highest at an intermediate P level, and coincided with the highest intensity of root colonization and the greatest reduction of seed yield relative to the non-AM plants at the same level of P availability. Lipid and protein contents were highly correlated (second order) with P content in all plants. In non-AM plants, however, lipid and protein contents were very low at the lowest soil P level, but statistically not different at the other soil P levels. The data show different patterns of seed P accumulation and different relationships between seed P content and protein and lipid composition in AM and non-AM plants. This suggests that both the presence and the intensity of AM-fungal colonization altered the response of seed lipid metabolism to increasing P availability, which affected the protein and lipid ratios.

Received for publication August 9, 1993.