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Investigations Into Host-Specific Interactions And Local Adaptation In The Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Jonathan Gonzalez
Investigations Into Host-Specific Interactions And Local Adaptation In The Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, Jonathan Gonzalez
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Mycorrhizal fungi are soil-borne organisms that form symbiotic associations with the majority of land plants. These fungi gather and exchange mineral nutrients with plants for photosynthetically derived carbohydrates. Mycorrhizal fungi can also confer other benefits onto plants, e.g. defense against pathogens, improved water relations, tolerance to heavy metal toxicity and herbivory. The influence of mycorrhizal fungi on plant mineral nutrition and response to stress suggests that these organisms may have a role to play sustainable agriculture as well as in bioremediation and ecosystem restoration.
In contributing to this important research, I investigated host-specific interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and the sex …