A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a widespread symbiosis between plant roots and fungi of the Glomeromycotina, which improves nutrient uptake by plants. The molecular mechanisms underlying development and function of the symbiosis are subject to increasing research activity. Since AM occurs in the soil,...

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Main Authors: Debatosh Das, Salar Torabi, Philipp Chapman, Caroline Gutjahr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00063/full
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author Debatosh Das
Debatosh Das
Salar Torabi
Salar Torabi
Philipp Chapman
Caroline Gutjahr
Caroline Gutjahr
author_facet Debatosh Das
Debatosh Das
Salar Torabi
Salar Torabi
Philipp Chapman
Caroline Gutjahr
Caroline Gutjahr
author_sort Debatosh Das
collection DOAJ
description Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a widespread symbiosis between plant roots and fungi of the Glomeromycotina, which improves nutrient uptake by plants. The molecular mechanisms underlying development and function of the symbiosis are subject to increasing research activity. Since AM occurs in the soil, most studies targeting a molecular understanding of AM development and function, use solid substrates for co-cultivating plants and AM fungi. However, for some experiments very clean roots, highly controlled nutrient conditions or applications of defined concentrations of signaling molecules (such as hormones) or other small chemicals (such as synthetic inhibitors or signaling agonists) are needed. To this end, hydroponics has been widely used in research on mechanisms of plant nutrition and some hydroponic systems were developed for AM fungal spore amplification. Here, we present a hydroponics set-up, which can be successfully utilized for experimental root colonization assays. We established a “tip-wick” system based on pipette tips and rock wool wicks for co-cultivation of AM fungi with small model plants such as Lotus japonicus. A larger “Falcon-wick” system using Falcon tubes and rockwool wicks was developed for larger model plants such as rice. The hydroponic system can also be employed for growing L. japonicus hairy roots after transformation by Agrobacterium rhizogenes, thus circumventing the laborious cultivation on agar medium-containing Petri dishes during hairy root development. The tip-wick and Falcon-wick systems are easy to use and can be built with low cost, conventional and reusable lab plastic ware and a simple aquarium pump.
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spelling doaj.art-eb41fa49e3a94e00b77344ea8053bb122022-12-21T17:50:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2020-02-011110.3389/fpls.2020.00063487327A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza SymbiosisDebatosh Das0Debatosh Das1Salar Torabi2Salar Torabi3Philipp Chapman4Caroline Gutjahr5Caroline Gutjahr6Faculty of Biology, Genetics, LMU Munich, Martinsried, GermanyPlant Genetics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, GermanyFaculty of Biology, Genetics, LMU Munich, Martinsried, GermanyPlant Genetics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, GermanyPlant Genetics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, GermanyFaculty of Biology, Genetics, LMU Munich, Martinsried, GermanyPlant Genetics, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Freising, GermanyArbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a widespread symbiosis between plant roots and fungi of the Glomeromycotina, which improves nutrient uptake by plants. The molecular mechanisms underlying development and function of the symbiosis are subject to increasing research activity. Since AM occurs in the soil, most studies targeting a molecular understanding of AM development and function, use solid substrates for co-cultivating plants and AM fungi. However, for some experiments very clean roots, highly controlled nutrient conditions or applications of defined concentrations of signaling molecules (such as hormones) or other small chemicals (such as synthetic inhibitors or signaling agonists) are needed. To this end, hydroponics has been widely used in research on mechanisms of plant nutrition and some hydroponic systems were developed for AM fungal spore amplification. Here, we present a hydroponics set-up, which can be successfully utilized for experimental root colonization assays. We established a “tip-wick” system based on pipette tips and rock wool wicks for co-cultivation of AM fungi with small model plants such as Lotus japonicus. A larger “Falcon-wick” system using Falcon tubes and rockwool wicks was developed for larger model plants such as rice. The hydroponic system can also be employed for growing L. japonicus hairy roots after transformation by Agrobacterium rhizogenes, thus circumventing the laborious cultivation on agar medium-containing Petri dishes during hairy root development. The tip-wick and Falcon-wick systems are easy to use and can be built with low cost, conventional and reusable lab plastic ware and a simple aquarium pump.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00063/fullhydroponicshairy root transformationriceLotus japonicusarbuscular mycorrhiza
spellingShingle Debatosh Das
Debatosh Das
Salar Torabi
Salar Torabi
Philipp Chapman
Caroline Gutjahr
Caroline Gutjahr
A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis
Frontiers in Plant Science
hydroponics
hairy root transformation
rice
Lotus japonicus
arbuscular mycorrhiza
title A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis
title_full A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis
title_fullStr A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis
title_full_unstemmed A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis
title_short A Flexible, Low-Cost Hydroponic Co-Cultivation System for Studying Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Symbiosis
title_sort flexible low cost hydroponic co cultivation system for studying arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis
topic hydroponics
hairy root transformation
rice
Lotus japonicus
arbuscular mycorrhiza
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.00063/full
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