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Isotope fractionation during root water uptake by Acacia caven is enhanced by arbuscular mycorrhizas

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Abstract

Aim

A growing number of studies show a discrepancy between the isotopic composition of xylem water and plant water sources. We tested the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the isotopic composition of Acacia caven xylem water. As the most common plant-fungal association, AMF might explain this isotopic mismatch.

Methods

Seedlings were grown with and without AMF and irrigated with the same water. After 120 days, stem and soil samples were collected and following cryogenic distillation, H and O isotopic composition of xylem and soil water, as well as irrigation water, was measured.

Results

Xylem water of non-mycorrhizal seedlings was significantly depleted in 2H compared to soil water (differences up to −15.6‰). When AMF were present, the depletion was significantly higher and appeared for both H and O (differences up to −24.6‰ for δ2H and − 2.9‰ for δ18O between soil and xylem water).

Conclusions

Results suggest that isotopic fractionation occurred during water uptake in this xerophytic species. To explain this, we propose an aquaporin-driven mechanism mediating water transport via transmembrane passage. Furthermore, we show for the first time, that AMF enhance the observed discrimination against heavy isotopes, probably by enforcing water passage through aquaporins. Given their ubiquity, AMF could question the fractionation-free assumption during root water uptake.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC) and the Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS) of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, which provided facilities used for this study. We thank Ana Ferreras who generously provided the Acacia caven seeds for the experiment. We appreciate the assistance of Silvana Longo, Nicolás Marro and Noelia Cofré during the experiment and mycorrhizal colonization identification. M.P. and O.C. specially thank Pedro Hervé-Fernandez for his inspiring introduction to the intriguing isotope world and for providing insightful comments on previous versions of the manuscript. We appreciate the comments of two anonymous reviewers and the responsible editor that improved significantly the quality of the manuscript. O.C. acknowledges the Commissie Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (CWO), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, UGent for a travel scholarship for performing the experiment in Argentina. The Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología (SECyT) - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba provided financial support to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada San Luis, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, CONICET, Grupo de Estudios Ambientales, San Luis, Argentina

    María Poca

  2. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, CONICET, Córdoba, Argentina

    María Poca, Carlos Urcelay & Sebastián R. Zeballos

  3. Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Olivia Coomans

  4. Isotope Bioscience Laboratory – ISOFYS, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Samuel Bodé & Pascal Boeckx

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  1. María Poca
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Correspondence to María Poca.

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Poca, M., Coomans, O., Urcelay, C. et al. Isotope fractionation during root water uptake by Acacia caven is enhanced by arbuscular mycorrhizas. Plant Soil 441, 485–497 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04139-1

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