MYCELIAL UPTAKE, TRANSLOCATION AND ASSIMILATION OF N-15-LABELED NITROGEN BY ECTOMYCORRHIZAL PINUS-SYLVESTRIS PLANTS

Mycelial uptake, translocation and assimilation of 15N-labelled ammonium was followed in Pinus sylvestris plants infected with the ectomycorrhizal fungus. Paxillus involutus. The distribution of labelled compounds within the systems was examined using gas chromatography / mass spectrometry. Labelled nitrogen was incorporated into a range of free amino acids in the fungal mycelium, the principal sinks being alanine and glutamate/glutamine. Levels of 15N enrichment declined throughout the transport pathway from 30-45% in the mycelium and mycorrhizal root tips to 3-11% in the plant shoots. A significant proportion of the total assimilated nitrogen (27%) was incorporated into proteinaceous material and the proportion of label present in this fraction increased from 27% in the mycelium to 32% and 58% in the plant roots and needles respectively. The protein-incorporated amino acids showed a wider spectrum of labelling with significant amounts of 15N incorporated into valine, isoleucine, phenylalanine and lysine. © 1990.