Morphological and molecular identification of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and their role in nutrient uptake

Kamran Akbar; Tabassum Yaseen; Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi; Javed Iqbal; Badr Alharthi; Sajid Fiaz; Salma Noureen; Shumaila Ijaz; Ejaz Aziz; Rashid Iqbal

doi:10.1071/FP24326

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Next Contents Vol 52(8)

Morphological and molecular identification of indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the rhizosphere of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and their role in nutrient uptake

Kamran Akbar ^A , Tabassum Yaseen ^A ^# , Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi ^B , Javed Iqbal ^A ^# , Badr Alharthi ^C , Sajid Fiaz

^D ^* , Salma Noureen ^A , Shumaila Ijaz ^E , Ejaz Aziz ^F and Rashid Iqbal ^G ^H

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Botany, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda24420, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Email: durrani_kamran0911@yahoo.com, tabassumyaseen@bkuc.edu.pk, javed89qau@gmail.com, salmanoreen738@gmail.com

^B Department of Botany, Rawalpindi Women University, 6th Road, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan. Email: benazirahsanabbasi786@gmail.com

^C Department of Biology, University College of Al Khurmah, Taif University, PO. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia. Email: b.harthi@tu.edu.sa

^D Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), The University of Lahore, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.

^E Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, Shenzhen Institute of Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518035, China. Email: shumailaijaz1996@yahoo.com

^F Department of botany GDC Khanpur Haripur, 22 650, Charsadda, Khyber Pakhthunkhw, Pakistan. Email: ejaz.aziz.qau@gmail.com

^G Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Pakistan, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan. Email: rashid.iqbal@iub.edu.pk

^H Department of Life Sciences, Western Caspian University, Baku, Azerbaijan.

^* Correspondence to: sajidfiaz50@yahoo.com

^# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Muhammad Zaheer

Functional Plant Biology 52, FP24326 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP24326

Submitted: 30 December 2024 Accepted: 30 June 2025 Published: 21 July 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC)

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the growth, nutrient uptake, and productivity of chickpea (Cicer arietinum). We investigated the diversity of indigenous AMF in their natural habitat and their effect on the plant and elemental characteristics of chickpea by analysing soil physicochemical properties, root colonisation, AMF spore diversity, and elemental composition of chickpea rhizosphere in two locations (Bhakkar and Khushab, Pakistan). Nitrogen levels of 5.47 g/kg and 4.51 g/kg were found in the rhizosphere soils of Bhakkar and Khushab, respectively. Root colonisation was higher (48.5%) in Khushab (Bhakkar, 35.5%), influencing phosphorus absorption in both regions. Molecular analysis identified 21 AMF taxa, with Glomus and Acaulospora being the most dominant genera. Variations in spore sizes were found, with Glomus measuring 10–191 μm, Acaulospora 125–152 μm, Sclerocystis 110–174 μm, and Gigaspora 65–184 μm. Plant analysis revealed that plant materials from Bhakkar had 1.72% ash, 1.16% fat, 3.78% fibre, and 13.05% protein; samples from Khushab had 1.90% ash, 1.25% fat, 3.24% fibre, and 11.5% protein. Elemental concentrations of chickpea plants from Bhakkar were N = 2.68%, P = 32.98 mg/kg, and K = 33.32 mg/kg, whereas those from Khushab were N = 1.94%, P = 1.17 mg/kg, and K = 43.06 mg/kg. Molecular analysis revealed AMF species with a range of 250–1100 bp. Root colonisation was inversely related to soil phosphorus levels but had a positive effect on plant moisture, fats, and carbohydrates. Morphological and molecular identification showed a relatively high AMF taxa in the rhizosphere of chickpea in both regions. Despite their benefits, the potential of AMF as biofertilisers has not been fully utilised due to prevailing agronomic practices.

Keywords: biofertilizer potential, elemental analysis, microbial activity, mycorrhization, root colonization, soil physicochemical properties, spore morphology.

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