Mycorrhizae Alter Protein and Lipid Contents and Yield of Pea Seeds

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Abstract
Root colonization by arbuscular‐mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may affect seed protein and lipid composition by altering P nutrition or by eliciting metabolic responses by the host plant. These fungi may therefore play a role in plant breeding programs. This study was conducted to determine the effects of an AM fungus and different levels of P availability on seed protein and lipid composition and yield. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants were grown in a greenhouse under different P regimes (0, 1, 2, or 4 g hydroxyapatite kg−1 soil) with or without the AM fungus Glomus mosseae (Nicol − Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe. At the lowest level of P availability, protein concentration was significantly lower and lipid concentration and seed dry mass were higher in AM than in non‐AM plants. Protein/lipid concentration ratios were invariant in non‐AM plants at all soil P levels. Those of the AM plants varied, were highest at an intermediate P level, and coincided with the highest intensity of root colonization and the greatest reduction of seed yield relative to the non‐AM plants at the same level of P availability. Lipid and protein contents were highly correlated (second order) with P content in all plants. In non‐AM plants, however, lipid and protein contents were very low at the lowest soil P level, but statistically not different at the other soil P levels. The data show different patterns of seed P accumulation and different relationships between seed P content and protein and lipid composition in AM and non‐AM plants. This suggests that both the presence and the intensity of AM‐fungal colonization altered the response of seed lipid metabolism to increasing P availability, which affected the protein and lipid ratios.

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