Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi does not confer tolerance of pasture legumes to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substance-contaminated soil.

Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi does not improve pasture legume tolerance to PFAS-contaminated soils, despite increasing plant biomass in contaminated conditions.

• Why it matters: PFAS contamination poses a serious environmental and health risk due to their persistence and bioaccumulation in crops and livestock, highlighting the need for effective mitigation strategies.
• What they did: The study involved inoculating sterilized and contaminated soils with Rhizophagus irregularis and growing three pasture legumes, assessing plant growth, PFAS effects, and mycorrhizal colonization across 3 species.
• The result: While AM fungi increased overall biomass, they did not enhance PFAS tolerance in the plants, indicating that AM inoculation alone cannot mitigate PFAS toxicity in pasture legumes.