SUNDARBAN MANGROVE

PLANTS & AM FUNGI:

A UNIQUE CASE OF
SYMBIOSIS
Avigyan Chatterjee
Department of Botany, Chakdaha College
Roll: 2116108 Number: 2008717
 OBJECTIVE

 To study the relationship between the mangroves of

Sundarban and AM fungi.

 To explore benefits of this symbiotic relationship and its

effect on environment.

 To understand the root architecture of mangroves for this

symbiosis.
SUNDARBAN: AN INTRODUCTION

 Deltaic drainage estuary where the rivers Ganga and

Brahmaputra join the Bay of Bengal.
 Largest riverine delta in the world.
 Highly dynamic and productive but fragile ecosystem.
 Temperature ranges from: 25°C to 35°C maximum and 12°C to
24°C minimum.
 Annual rainfall ranges from 1500-2000 mm.
 About 60% of the mangrove reserve is found here.
MANGROVE PLANTS IN SUNDARBANS:

 Coastal salt-tolerant trees or shrubs that are adapted to estuarine

or even saline environment.
 Also known as halophytes.
 Found in the Southern part of Bengal and Bangladesh, where the
rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra joins the Bay of Bengal.
 SURVIVAL OF MANGROVE PLANTS IN
SALINE-PRONE AREAS OF
SUNDARBANS:

 Presence of Pneumatophores, Root Buttress, Prop roots.

 Presence of vivipary.
 Production of osmoprotectants.
 AM fungal symbiosis, that facilitate the uptake of mineral nutrients from
the physiologically dry soil.
 AM FUNGAL SYMBIOSIS: AN
INTRODUCTION
AM fungi or Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi are soil borne fungus that form a
mutualistic symbiosis with the roots of plants, and provide immense benefits to the
host.

AM Symbiosis is an essentially promiscuous association between more or less 10,000

plant species.

GLOMALIN – a glycoprotein produced by AM fungi plays pioneer role in the

mutualistic relation.
 ROLE OF GLOMALIN IN AM-
MANGROVE SYMBIOSIS:

• Plays crucial role in soil aggregation

• Helps in carbon and nitrogen storage from soil.

• Acts as hyphal protector.

• Recovery of degradation and monitoring of stages of

soil degradation.
AM FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH MANGROVE PLANTS

 Out of 54 plant species found predominantly in the Sundarbans Deltaic

Region, 31 were mangrove & mangrove associates, and all of them showed
AM fungal symbiosis. eg: Acanthus ilicifolius, Avicennia marina,
Heritiera fomes.
 Among the rest non-littoral 23 plant species maximum showed AM
association.
 The intensity of root infection varied considerably, the herbs showed more
infection intensity than the trees.
 AM fungal association were also reported by researchers among the
mangroves of Bhitarkanika, Odisha and in the riverine marshes of Goa
and eastern coasts of Tamil Nadu.
 The most predominant fungus associated with the mangroves was Glomus
sp.
 MANGROVES OF SUNDARBAN COMMONLY
FOUND ASSOCIATED WITH AM FUNGI

Acanthus ilicifolius Heritiera fomes Avicennia marina

(Acanthaceae) (Malvaceae) (Acanthaceae)
ROOT ARCHITECTURE & AM FUNGAL
ASSOCIATION:
 Root architecture normally changes in response to soil
environment to minimize the metabolic cost and to maximise
nutrient acquisition.
 Mycorrhizal symbiosis in mangrove roots show various
architectural adaptations to favour the mutualistic relation
between both the entities:
1. Coarser root systems.
2. Less plasticity in root/shoot ratio.
3. Development fewer root hairs in low fertility soils.
In nutrient limited soils Mangroves with AM fungal association
develop even more coarser root system called as Magnolioid
Root System.
 ROOT ARCHITECTURE OF THE
MANGROVES

Acanthus ilicifolius Heritiera fomes Avicennia marina

(Acanthaceae) (Malvaceae) (Acanthaceae)
 REFERENCE
 Sengupta, A. and Chaudhuri, S. 1990a. Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) in pioneer salt marsh
plants of the Ganges River delta in West Bengal (India). Plant Soil122 (1): 111-113.
 Sengupta, A. and Chaudhuri, S. 1990b. Studies on the rhizosphere microflora of saline habitat plants
of Sundarban with special reference to VA-mycorrhiza in relation to plant nutrition. Unpublished
Ph.D. thesis, B.C.K.V.
 Sengupta, A. and Chaudhuri, S. 2002. Arbuscular mycorrhizal relations of mangrove plant
community at the Ganges River estuary in India. Mycorrhizae12: 169-174
 Atakan, A. and Ozgonen, H. 2021. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Glomalin. Turkish Journal of
Agriculture – Food Science and Technology. 9 (12): 2371-2375.
 Gopinathan, M., Mahesh, V and Durgadeir, R. 2017. Occurrence and distribution of AM fungi
associated in Avicennia marina (Forssk) Vierh. Soils of south east coastal area of Muthu pet. Journal
of Global Biosciences 6(1): 4741-4747.
 https://www.britannica.com/
 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01270/full