Author(s)

Audrey Maguy Bengono Nyimiebolo^1,2, Astride Carole Djeuani^1,2*, Hermann Désiré Mbouobda^1,3, Antoine Marie Kevin Tiki^1,2, Theresa Akinimbom Moma^1,3, Diobe Motassy Manuela^1,2, Samuel Brice Adounga^1,2, Christophe Fendju Pangueko^1,3, Jones Nshanji^1,3, Issofa Nguetrapouna^1,4, Rose Theophine Derricka Djem Moutamal^1,2, A. Ziem Amang Amang^1,2, Nicolas Niemenak¹

¹Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Higher Teacher Training College (HTTC), University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
²Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
³Department of Biology, Higher Teacher Training College, Bambili (HTTC), The University of Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon.
⁴Departments of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The objective of this work was to carry out a morphological characterization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere of Xanthosoma sagittifolium L. Schott plants. The plant material used was the white and red cultivars of X. sagittifolium, belonging to age intervals of 3 - 6, 6 - 9, and 9 - 12 months. Three harvest sites were chosen in the Central Region of Cameroon. In each site, soil from the rhizosphere and plant roots was collected in a randomized manner. In the field, the agronomic parameters were evaluated. The physicochemical characteristics of the soils, the mycorrhization index, and the morphological characterization of the mycorrhizal types of each site were carried out. The results obtained show that the agronomic growth parameters varied significantly using the Student Newman and Keuls Test depending on the harvest sites. The soils’ pH in all sites was acidic and ranged between 4.6 and 5.8. The Nkometou site has a loamy texture while the Olembe and Soa sites have loam-clay-sandy and loam-clay textures respectively. The highest mycorrhization frequencies appeared at the Nkometou site, with 75 and 87.33% of the white and red cultivars plant roots at 6 - 9 and 3 - 6 months. The relative abundance of AMF arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spores in the rhizosphere of X. sagittifolium plants varied with age and cultivar. There were 673 spores between 9 - 12 months in Nkometou in the red cultivar. Six AMF genera were identified in all the different soils collected: Acaulospora sp., Funneliformis sp., Gigaspora sp., Glomus sp., Scutellospora sp., and Septoglomus sp. The genus Glomus sp. was the most present at all age intervals in both cultivars.

Xanthosoma sagittifolium L. Schott, Rhizosphere, Harvest Site, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Diversity

Bengono Nyimiebolo, A. , Djeuani, A. , Mbouobda, H. , Tiki, A. , Moma, T. , Manuela, D. , Adounga, S. , Pangueko, C. , Nshanji, J. , Nguetrapouna, I. , Moutamal, R. , Amang, A. and Niemenak, N. (2024) Morphological Characterization of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Associated with the Rhizosphere According to the Age of Xanthosoma sagittifolium L. Schott Plants in the Field. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 15, 161-179. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2024.153012.