Influence of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus on the interaction of a binucleate Rhizoctonia species with Myc+ and Myc- pea roots

A binucleate Rhizoctonia (BNR) species was isolated from a clay loam soil on the Epoisses experimental station of INRA, Dijon and identified as belonging to the anastomosis Group A (AG-A). The BNR was inoculated to a Myc(-) Piston sativitin mutant (P53, sym30 locus) and its wild-type parent (cv Frisson) in the presence or absence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae. The BNR had no significant effect on plant weight. Myc(+) and Myc(-) roots were equally susceptible towards BNR and showed no localized cellular defense responses. The presence of BNR decreased significantly the percentage of root length colonized by G. mosseae and, inversely, G. mosseae reduced the number of BNR monilioid chains formed in root epidermal cells of the two pea genotypes. The pisatin concentration was increased significantly by BNR in both Myc(+) and Myc(-) roots and by G. mosseae in the wild-type pea plants. The highest accumulation of pisatin was observed in Myc(+) roots when both fungi were present.