Broschiertes Buch

In Vitro Culture of Mycorrhizas

Beschreibung

The ?rst 30 cm of the earth's surface represents a fragile and valuable ecos- tem, thanks to which terrestrial plants, and indirectly animals and humans, can live. The microbial activity occurring in soil is largely responsible for its physical and nutritional quality. Among the micro-organisms living in soil, the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a major role. They are present in all types of soil, everywhere on the planet, living in symbiotic association with the roots of most plant species. They have co-evolved with plants for 400 million years, improving their nutrition and resistance to v- ious types of stress. Present practices in conventional agriculture, which introduce great amounts of chemicals, have eliminated or underexploited the AM symbiosis. The rational exploitation of AM fungi in sustainable agriculture, to help minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, has been hampered by several biological characteristics of these mic- organisms: they cannot be grown in the absence of a plant host and their genetic structure is very complex. Despite these limitations, biologists have made important progress in understanding better the functioning of AM fungi. An in vitro technique has been developed using mycorrhizal root organ cultures, which made it possible to investigate the genetics, cell biology and physiology of AM fungi. We can now be objective enough to critically evaluate the impacts the in vitro technique has had to improve our knowledge on mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Autor

This is the first book describing in vitro cultivation of root organs. The text describes various biological aspects such as the physiology, biochemistry, biodiversity, and life cycles of fungi, as well as the effects of symbiosis on plant growth and development, including large-scale fungus production for biotechnological use. Detailed protocols allow the immediate application of the method to culture mycorrhizal fungi in vitro.

Produktdetails

• Soil Biology 4
• Verlag: Springer / Springer Berlin Heidelberg / Springer, Berlin
• Artikelnr. des Verlages: 978-3-642-06315-2
• Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st edition 2005
• Seitenzahl: 416
• Erscheinungstermin: 22. Oktober 2010
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 155mm x 26mm
• Gewicht: 638g
• ISBN-13: 9783642063152
• ISBN-10: 3642063152
• Artikelnr.: 32056699

Rezensionen

From the reviews: "There is no doubt that this book will interest not only mycorrhizologists, but also more generally, researchers working with obligate plant biotropic microorganisms recalcitrant to axenic culture in the absence of host roots. This volume of the Soil Biology series compiles experts' advice and know-how in the use of in vitro cultivation methods in AM symbiosis research. ... this book will be useful to researchers envisaging in vitro system for conservation, production, and studies of mycorrhizal fungi." (Ghislaine Recorbet, Mycorrhiza, 2006) "Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form an extremely important group of soil fungi. ... This book, edited by three well-known experts in the field, gives an overview of the technology and reviews results obtained so far. ... This is the book that I would have seen written. ... strikes a good balance between optimism about the successes in store for the novel methodology and a critical attitude towards the methodology. The book will certainly be a very welcome addition to libraries ... ." (Thomas W. Kuyper, Mycopathologia, Vol. 162, 2006) "The Editors clearly explain how the obligate nature of AM fungi makes it difficult to study most aspects of their biology, and how the use of root-organ-cultures (ROCs) has opened new opportunities and vistas on several aspects of the AM symbiosis. ... The book is very interesting and worth considering as a reference manual ... ." (Paola Bonfante, Mycological Research, Vol. 110, 2006)