Ectomycorrhizal fungi and exogenous auxins influence root and mycorrhiza formation of Scots pine hypocotyl cuttings in vitro

We studied the ability of the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, Pisolithus tinctorius (Pers.) Coker and Couch and Paxillus involutus (Batsch) Fr. (Strain H), to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and to affect the formation and growth of roots on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) hypocotyl cuttings in vitro. Effects of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and the auxin transport inhibitor, 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), on rooting and the cutting-fungus interaction were also studied. Both fungi produced IAA in the absence of exogenous tryptophan, but the mycelium and culture filtrate of Pisolithus tinctorius contained higher concentrations of free and conjugated IAA than the mycelium and culture filtrate of Paxillus involutus. Inoculation with either fungus or short-term application of culture filtrate of either fungus to the base of hypocotyl cuttings enhanced root formation. Inoculation with either fungus was even more effective in enhancing root formation than treatment of the hypocotyl bases with IBA. Fungal IAA production was not directly correlated with root formation, because rooting was enhanced more by Paxillus involutus than by Pisolithus tinctorius. This suggests that, in addition to IAA, other fungal components play an important role in root formation. Treatment with 5 microM TIBA increased the rooting percentage of non-inoculated cuttings, as well as of cuttings inoculated with Pisolithus tinctorius, perhaps as a result of accumulation of IAA at the cutting base. However, the marked reduction in growth of Pisolithus tinctorius in the presence of TIBA suggests that the effects of TIBA on rooting are complicated and not solely related to IAA metabolism. The high IAA-producer, Pisolithus tinctorius, formed mycorrhizas, and the IBA treatment increased mycorrhizal frequency in this species, whereas TIBA decreased it. Paxillus involutus did not form mycorrhizas, indicating that a low concentration of IAA together with other fungal components were sufficient to stimulate formation and growth of the roots, but not the formation of ECM symbiosis.