Article
Plant Sciences
Xia Han, Yuhao Zhou, Yanpeng Li, Wei Ren, Kunkun Liu, Wenrui Zhang, Haoqiang Zhang, Ming Tang
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of an AM fungus (Rhizophagus irregularis) and potassium concentration on Lycium barbarum. The results showed that inoculation of R. irregularis and application of potassium increased the dry weight, potassium and phosphorus contents of L. barbarum, and increased the colonization rate and arbuscule abundance of R. irregularis. In addition, the expression of LbKAT3 and AQP genes in L. barbarum was upregulated. Overall, LbKAT3 may assist in mycorrhizal potassium uptake, and overexpression of LbKAT3 may promote potassium, phosphorus, and water transport from the AM fungus to tobacco.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lan Li, Qianying Liu, Shibei Ge, Mingjia Tang, Liqun He, Yuwen Zou, Jingquan Yu, Yanhong Zhou
Summary: Auxins are a class of plant hormones that play roles in the establishment and maintenance of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (AMS). In this study, it was found that the transcription factors ARFs and AUX/IAAs in the auxin signaling pathway co-regulate the transcription of auxin response genes, highlighting their importance in the early stage of AMS. Additionally, SlARF6 was found to negatively regulate AMF colonization, while SlIAA23 promoted AMS and phosphorus uptake by interacting with SlARF6. Furthermore, SlARF6 and SlIAA23 played opposing roles in strigolactone synthesis and accumulation in AMF-colonized tomato roots.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Adam Frew
Summary: Aboveground herbivory from a generalist insect herbivore can suppress the AM symbiosis by reducing root growth and carbon allocation belowground, which results in decreased arbuscular colonisation and phosphorus uptake in host plants.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
David Pessanha Siqueira, Andreia Francisca Riter Netto, Juliana Muller Freire, Deborah Guerra Barroso
Summary: The research confirmed the natural mycorrhizal colonization in monospecific plantations of Plathymenia reticulata and Dalbergia nigra, with different fungal species associated with AMF found in the soil under each species.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Mengge Zhang, Zhaoyong Shi, Fayuan Wang
Summary: This study found that plant species have a more significant impact on AMF diversity and community composition compared to environmental factors. Plant roots are usually associated with abundant AMF species in different environments.
INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Xiaocui Ma, Xia Xu, Qinghong Geng, Yiqi Luo, Chenghui Ju, Qian Li, Yan Zhou
Summary: This study aimed to explore the global distribution pattern and key predictors of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) diversity and abundance. It was found that cold climate zones had lower AMF diversity. Grassland ecosystems tended to have higher AMF diversity and abundance. Soil available phosphorus (P) and latitude were identified as the most important predictors of AMF diversity. Soil available P and soil pH were the main predictors for the global distribution of AMF abundance. The findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the distribution patterns of mycorrhizal fungal diversity and abundance at the global scale.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qingyan Qiu, S. Franz Bender, Abubakari Said Mgelwa, Yalin Hu
Summary: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can significantly reduce soil nitrogen and phosphorus losses, and the mitigation effects depend on the identity of inoculum, plant type, and soil biotic and abiotic factors.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Melanie S. Verlinden, Hamada AbdElgawad, Arne Ven, Lore T. Verryckt, Sebastian Wieneke, Ivan A. Janssens, Sara Vicca
Summary: Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plant growth, but it is often limited in soil. This study investigated the effects of phosphorus limitation on leaf pigments and enzymes in Zea mays, and how these effects changed throughout the growing season. The results showed that phosphorus limitation strongly influenced plant growth and leaf-level measurements. However, phosphorus limitation decreased over time, and most of the fertilization effects disappeared after 2 months of planting. These findings suggest that the symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi plays a crucial role in explaining the vanishing phosphorus stress.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siwei Mai, Han Mao, Yamin Jiang, Ting Huang, Qiu Yang, Guitong Xing, Xiaofang Wang, Huai Yang, Wenjie Liu
Summary: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have an important role in plant-soil interactions, but the dynamics of AMF community composition and activity remain unclear. This study used high throughput sequencing to study soil AMF community composition in a tropical forest ecosystem. The results showed significant differences in AMF community characteristics between shrubland and secondary forest ecosystems, but not between different stages of secondary forest recovery. Plant community dynamics and root biomass were found to be key factors in regulating soil AMF communities. This study provides new insights into AMF community dynamics and their driving factors, as well as expanding knowledge of their ecological value for tropical forest restoration.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yuanliu Hu, Ji Chen, Dafeng Hui, Ying-Ping Wang, Jianling Li, Jingwen Chen, Guoyin Chen, Yiren Zhu, Leiyi Zhang, Deqiang Zhang, Qi Deng
Summary: South China has been experiencing high acid deposition and severe soil acidification, leading to phosphorus (P) limitation in the regional ecosystem. A 10-year field experiment showed that acidification increased occluded P pool in the dry season but had no effect on microbial P, soluble P, and labile organic P pools in the wet season. Acid addition also increased exchangeable Al3+, Fe3+, and the activation of Fe oxides in both seasons. In the wet season, acid addition stimulated ectomycorrhizal fungi and phosphomonoesterase activities, potentially alleviating acidification-induced P limitation.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Ming Lang, Xia Li, Chaoyuan Zheng, Haigang Li, Junling Zhang
Summary: In this study, shading was found to significantly decrease soluble sugar concentration in the phloem of mycorrhizal maize, leading to a decrease in root biomass under shading conditions. Additionally, mycorrhizal P response decreased with increasing P supply levels. The findings suggest a tight linkage between carbon allocation and P uptake systems in maintaining mycorrhizal functioning in agroecosystems.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria V. Aparicio Chacon, Judith Van Dingenen, Sofie Goormachtig
Summary: Plants can be colonized by fungi with both harmful and beneficial effects. One way the fungi colonize is by secreting effector proteins that change the plant's physiology to suit the fungus. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), the oldest plant symbionts, may benefit from using effectors. Recent research has focused on understanding the function, evolution, and diversification of AMF effectors through genome analysis and transcriptomic studies. However, only a small fraction of the predicted effector proteins have been characterized, limiting our understanding of how they manipulate their host plants and which plant proteins they interact with.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Yutao Wang, Xiaozhe Bao, Shaoshan Li
Summary: Flooding and shading negatively impact the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on rice growth and yields, mainly due to the reduction of AMF colonization and extraradical hyphal density. The P delivery pathway from AMF to rice roots plays an important role, but flooding and shading decrease the mycorrhizal P benefit of rice plants.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Xin Yang, Yang Liu, Haiyang Tian, Yue Shen
Summary: Short-term nitrogen and phosphorous enrichment have significant impacts on plant community dynamics in desert steppe, while the presence of AM fungi does not seem to alter plant community composition and productivity significantly.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Ming Lang, Chunyan Zhang, Weihua Su, Xiuxiu Chen, Chunqin Zou, Xinping Chen
Summary: The study found that different AMF members modulate their mycorrhizal traits with maize under different P fertilization rates. Long-term P fertilization significantly altered the alpha diversity, structure, and composition of AM communities, which affected AMF colonization of maize roots and expression of a phosphate transporter gene.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kenneth J. J. Davidson, Julien Lamour, Alistair Rogers, Kim S. S. Ely, Qianyu Li, Nate G. G. McDowell, Alexandria L. L. Pivovaroff, Brett T. T. Wolfe, S. Joseph Wright, Alfonso Zambrano, Shawn P. P. Serbin
Summary: Understanding the mechanisms of stomatal regulation of transpiration and CO2 assimilation is crucial for predicting the response of terrestrial ecosystems to global change. A study was conducted on six tropical broadleaf evergreen tree species to evaluate the estimation of g(1) and g(0) parameters. The results showed uncertainties in the physiological and mechanistic controls on these parameters. Improving the accuracy of modeled stomatal conductance can be achieved by considering the diurnal variation and measurement approaches of stomatal behavior.
Article
Ecology
Damie Pak, Varun Swamy, Patricia Alvarez-Loayza, Fernando Cornejo-Valverde, Simon A. Queenborough, Margaret R. Metz, John Terborgh, Renato Valencia, S. Joseph Wright, Nancy C. Garwood, Jesse R. Lasky
Summary: The study found that seed fall phenology in tropical plant communities exhibits significant synchrony and is influenced by shared environmental responses and positive interactions among species. Within species groups, both compensatory and synchronous phenology were observed. Wind-dispersed species showed significant synchrony at a scale of approximately 6 months, suggesting shared phenological niches to match seasonal wind patterns.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Edwin Lebrija-Trejos, Andres Hernandez, S. Joseph Wright
Summary: Tropical tree diversity increases with rainfall, potentially due to direct physiological effects of moisture availability and indirect effects mediated by biotic interactions. This study in central Panama evaluated the relationships between interannual variation in moisture availability, density-dependent interactions, and seedling diversity. It found that diversity increased with soil moisture, and this effect persisted for at least 15 years. Negative density-dependent interactions among conspecifics in wetter years contributed to the observed increase in diversity, suggesting an indirect enhancement of diversity through moisture-sensitive interactions. Pathogens and phytophagous insects, many of which are moisture-sensitive, mediate seedling interactions in tropical forests, and changes in moisture availability may impact these interactions and tree diversity.
Article
Plant Sciences
Julien Lamour, Kenneth J. Davidson, Kim S. Ely, Gilles Le Moguedec, Jeremiah A. Anderson, Qianyu Li, Osvaldo Calderon, Charles D. Koven, S. Joseph Wright, Anthony P. Walker, Shawn P. Serbin, Alistair Rogers
Summary: This study compared the representation of vertical gradients of key leaf traits in terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) with measurements in a tropical forest, and quantified the impact of these gradients on simulated canopy-scale CO2 and water fluxes. The comparison showed divergence between the observed and modeled trait gradients, which influenced canopy-scale simulations of water vapor and CO2 exchange. The study suggests that current assumptions about leaf trait gradients in TBMs are not accurate for complex tropical forests.
Article
Soil Science
Kaiyan Zhai, Pan Yin, Daniel Revillini, Shengen Liu, Qingpeng Yang, Longchi Chen, Munan Zhu, Xin Guan, Zhangquan Zeng, Huixia Yang, Qingkui Wang, Silong Wang, Weidong Zhang
Summary: Through studying the changes in soil microbial communities and plant traits in a Chinese fir plantation, it was found that non-planted woody plant communities have a close relationship with soil bacterial and fungal diversity. The results showed that soil bacterial richness was positively associated with woody plant richness, while soil fungal richness was negatively associated with woody plant basal area. Furthermore, woody plant richness was positively correlated with ectomycorrhizal fungal richness but negatively correlated with the richness of pathogenic and saprotrophic fungi. The study highlights the importance of community-level woody plant attributes in regulating microbial biodiversity in plantation systems.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Nancy C. Garwood, Margaret R. Metz, Simon A. Queenborough, Viveca Persson, S. Joseph Wright, David F. R. P. Burslem, Milton Zambrano, Renato Valencia
Summary: A long-term study of flowering and fruiting phenology in the Yasuni forest in eastern Ecuador showed strong seasonal patterns. Flowering peaked in September-November, while fruiting peaked in March-April. The study also found that irradiance and rainfall also exhibited seasonal variations. This suggests that reproductive phenology is generally seasonal in the ever-wet lowland equatorial forests of northwestern Amazonia.
Editorial Material
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin L. Turner
Summary: A 3-year field experiment indicates that plant responses to elevated CO2 in phosphorus-limited grasslands rely on the biogeochemical interplay between soil microbes and plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Daniel Revillini, Aaron S. David, Alma L. Reyes, Leslie D. Knecht, Carolina Vigo, Preston Allen, Christopher A. Searcy, Michelle E. Afkhami
Summary: Allelopathy has significant effects on soil microbiome and plant performance, with changes in microbial composition influencing plant productivity. The frequency of ecological stress may be a key predictor of microbiome-mediation strength.
Article
Biology
Ryota Aoyagi, Richard Condit, Benjamin L. Turner
Summary: Hierarchical Bayesian analysis was used to test variations in growth and mortality of 40,000 individual trees from over 400 species in tropical forests of Panama. Contrary to theoretical expectations, tree species adapted to low-phosphorus soils showed faster growth rates and lower mortality rates than those adapted to high-phosphorus soils.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael Kalyuzhny, Jeffrey K. Lake, S. Joseph Wright, Annette M. Ostling
Summary: For species to coexist, there must be a decline in performance as conspecific density increases. In this study, it is shown that adults of tropical forest tree species exhibit strong spatial repulsion, indicating substantial niche differences between species. The results demonstrate that conspecific negative density dependence can play a significant role in stabilizing species diversity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaogang Li, Dele Chen, Victor J. Carrion, Daniel Revillini, Shan Yin, Yuanhua Dong, Taolin Zhang, Xingxiang Wang, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Summary: Soil-borne pathogens pose a major threat to food production worldwide, especially with global change and growing populations. However, little is known about the regulation of soil pathogens by the soil microbiome and their impact on plant health. Acidification of soils affects bacterial communities and reduces soil capacity to combat fungal pathogens like Fusarium. Acidified soil microbiomes have a decreased ability to suppress Fusarium and prevent pathogen invasion in healthy plants.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaogang Li, Dele Chen, Victor J. Carrion, Daniel Revillini, Shan Yin, Yuanhua Dong, Taolin Zhang, Xingxiang Wang, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Molly E. Huber, Joseph B. Yavitt, S. Joseph Wright
Summary: This study investigated the physical association between minerals and organic matter in different types of soils in the Barro Colorado Island tropical forest in Panama. The results showed that macroaggregates, composed of plant detritus and microaggregates, play a key role in protecting soil organic matter.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jason Vleminckx, J. Aaron Hogan, Margaret R. Metz, Liza S. Comita, Simon A. Queenborough, S. Joseph Wright, Renato Valencia, Milton Zambrano, Nancy C. Garwood
Summary: Research shows that flower production in everwet western Amazonian forests declines as nighttime temperature and relative humidity increase, suggesting a negative impact of warmer nights and greater atmospheric water saturation on reproduction. Different plant species exhibit varying responses to climatic variables, but this variation is not explained by life form or phylogeny.
Article
Ecology
Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, Po-Hui Chiang, S. Joseph Wright, Chang-Fu Hsieh, I-Fang Sun
Summary: Plants have evolved mechanisms to track seasonal variation in environmental resources, enabling them to time key life-history events to appropriate seasons. Our study compared the first flowering dates predicted by different cues in a subtropical rainforest. We found that temperature cues best explained interannual variation in flowering dates, while cues associated with photoperiod, irradiance, and rainfall had lower predictive power.