Root starch accumulation in response to arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization differs among Lotus japonicus starch mutants

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are obligate symbionts dependent for completion of their life cycle on plant carbohydrates, which they trade for mineral nutrients. Plant colonization by AM fungi is therefore expected to induce profound changes in plant carbon metabolism. We have previously observed that on one hand starch accumulation increases in responses to pre-symbiotic fungal signals and on the other hand, it decreases in mycorrhizal Lotus japonicus roots (Gutjahr et al. in New Phytol 183:53-61, 2009). To examine the importance of starch metabolism for AM development, we took advantage of a novel series of Lotus japonicus mutants impaired either in starch degradation or in synthesis. Normal AM colonization in all mutants indicated that defects in starch metabolism do not affect AM development and that carbohydrates can be supplied to the AM fungus without a requirement for starch synthesis. Furthermore, our experiments allowed us to characterize root starch dynamics in detail and point to continued turnover of starch in the degradation mutants in the presence of mycorrhiza.