Biocontrol of the pathogen Phytophthora parasitica by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is a consequence of effects on infection loci

The impact of colonization by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus mosseae on tomato root necrosis caused by the soil-borne pathogen Phytophthora parasitica was investigated. Studies in situ permitted infection loci to be identified and the effects of the AMF on numbers to be elucidated. Effects were significant and, 7 and 16 days after inoculation with zoospores of the pathogen, roots of plants colonized by the AMF had 39% and 30%, respectively, fewer infection loci than those that were not. Concurrent studies of the rate of spread of necrosis within roots showed no changes caused by the AMF. At harvest, 26 days following inoculation with the pathogen, 61% of roots of noncolonized plants were necrotic compared with only 31% in AMF-colonized plants. It is concluded that effects on numbers of infection loci are one mechanism via which AMF achieve biocontrol of this pathogen in tomato. Measures of the effects of the AMF on root system architecture suggest that no significant changes occur and are thus not the reasons for the reduction in infection loci. The implications of these data for agricultural practice and biocontrol research are discussed.