Uptake of 15 trace elements in arbuscular mycorrhizal marigold Measured by the multitracer technique

The effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization on the uptake of trace elements in marigold (Tagetes patula L.) was studied using a multitracer consisting of radionuclides of ⁷Be, ²²Na, ⁴⁶Sc, ⁵¹Cr, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵⁹Fe, ⁵⁶Co, ⁶⁵Zn, ⁷⁴As, ⁷⁵Se, ⁸³Rb, ⁸⁵Sr, ⁸⁸Y, ⁸⁸Zr, and ^95mTc. Marigold plants were grown under controlled environmental conditions in sand culture either without mycorrhizas or in association with an AM fungus, Glomus etunicatum. The multitracer was applied to the pot, and plants were harvested at 7 and 21 d after tracer application. We found that the uptake of ⁷Be, ²²Na, ⁵¹Cr, ⁵⁹Fe, ⁶⁵Zn, and ^95mTc was higher in the mycorrhizal marigolds than in the non-mycorrhizal ones, while that of ⁴⁶Sc, ⁵⁶Co, ⁸³Rb, and ⁸⁵Sr was lower in the mycorrhizal marigolds than in the non-mycorrhizal ones. Thus, the multitracer technique enabled to analyze the uptake of various elements by plant simultaneously. It is suggested that this technique could be used to analyze the effects of AM colonization on the uptake of trace elements by plant.