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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of a Mediterranean island (Pianosa), within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

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Abstract

In this work we have determined the community composition of spore-forming arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in a maquis site on Pianosa island, a protected area within the Tuscan Islands UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Italy. We have analysed rhizosphere soil of the dominant plant species Pistacia lentiscus, Smilax aspera, Rosmarinus officinalis and of the endemic plant Helichrysum litoreum. The AMF species recovered were: Scutellospora dipurpurescens, Glomus coronatum, Glomus mosseae, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus geosporum, Glomus viscosum, Entrophospora sp., Pacispora sp. and Glomus rubiforme. The identification of native S. dipurpurescens and G. coronatum was carried out on spores isolated from rhizosphere soil of H. litoreum, by combining morphological traits and 18S (SSU) and ITS rDNA sequences. Therefore, AMF species of Pianosa rhizosphere soils represent an important repository for the conservation and maintenance in their natural habitat of such beneficial symbionts, key microorganisms of soil fertility.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Ambra Marsili and Dario Castelli for their contribution to lab work. Authors wish to thank Alessandro Dodero, ISE-CNR (Florence, Italy), for his skilful technical assistance in soil and plant samplings and analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia delle Piante Agrarie, Università di Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Alessandra Turrini, Patrizia Strani & Manuela Giovannetti

  2. Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, CNR, via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Cristiana Sbrana

  3. Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, CNR, via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Beatrice Pezzarossa

  4. Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerche Agro-Ambientali “Enrico Avanzi”, Università di Pisa, Via Vecchia di Marina 6, S. Piero a Grado, 56010, Pisa, Italy

    Rosalba Risaliti

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  1. Alessandra Turrini
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  2. Cristiana Sbrana
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  3. Patrizia Strani
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  6. Manuela Giovannetti
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Correspondence to Manuela Giovannetti.

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Turrini, A., Sbrana, C., Strani, P. et al. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of a Mediterranean island (Pianosa), within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Biol Fertil Soils 46, 511–520 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-010-0446-z

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