Genetic diversity for mycorrhizal symbiosis and phosphate transporters in rice

Phosphorus(P) is a major plant nutrient and developing crops with higher P-use efficiency is an important breeding goal.In this context we have conducted a comparative study of irrigated and rainfed rice varieties to assess genotypic differences in colonization with arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM) fungi and expression of different P transporter genes.Plants were grown in three different soil samples from a rice farm in the Philippines.The data show that AM symbiosis in all varieties was established after 4 weeks of growth under aerobic conditions and that,in soil derived from a rice paddy,natural AM populations recovered within6 weeks.The analysis of AM marker genes(AM1,AM3,AM14) and P transporter genes for the direct Pi uptake(PT2,PT6) and AM-mediated pathway(PT11,PT13) were largely in agreement with the observed root AM colonization providing a useful tool for diversity studies.Interestingly,delayed AM colonization was observed in the aus-type rice varieties which might be due to their different root structure and might confer an advantage for weed competition in the field.The data further showed that P-starvation induced root growth and expression of the high-affinity P transporter PT6 was highest in the irrigated variety IR66 which also maintained grain yield under P-deficient field conditions.