OCCURRENCE OF TREHALOSE IN VESICULAR-ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI AND IN MYCORRHIZAL ROOTS

The presence of trehalose was investigated in sporocarps of the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus versiforme and in roots of Tagetes tenuifolia and Glycine max infected by Glomus mosseae. Trehalose was the main soluble carbohydrate in sporocarps; it was present also in mycorrhizal roots, whereas in non-mycorrhizal roots it was absent or detected only in traces. Soybean plants were inoculated with G. mosseae and grown under different conditions of light regimen and phosphate availability. P fertilization and light deprivation reduced root mycorrhizal infection. The trehalose content of mycorrhizal roots increased concurrently with the course of fungal infection, and decreased both upon P fertilization and light deprivation. The content of total soluble carbohydrates, on the contrary, decreased only upon light deprivation.