Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi suffer from perfluoroalkyl substance pollution in soil but ameliorate negative effects on plant performance

In this study, we assessed the effects of PFOA on AMF and onion plant growth under a laboratory condition. Our results showed that PFOA negatively impacted AMF colonization rate, arbuscules, and esicles, indicating the negative effects of PFOA on AMF-onion plant symbiosis relationships. In addition, the presence of PFOA negatively impacted all root traits we measured including root biomass, total length, average diameter, root tissue density, specific root length, and specific root surface area, and aboveground plant growth parameters such as leaf biomass and maximum height. While the inoculation of AMF mitigated the negative effects of PFOA on onion plant growth.