Phosphorus uptake by mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal roots of soybean

Kinetics of phosphorus absorption were investigated with mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal soybean (Glycine max Merr.) plants which were grown in a greenhouse and growth chamber and with nutrient solutions. Mycorrhizal plants depleted phosphorus from a dilute (<30uM) nutrient solution three times faster and had lower apparent efflux of phosphorus than the uninfected plants. The affinity (K_m) of roots for phosphorus from the solution was not increased by mycorrhizal infection. The results indicate that enhanced phosphorus absorption by mycorrhizal roots of soybean is due to an increase in the number of uptake sites per unit area of root (^v max).