Review
Agronomy
Francisco J. Soto-Cruz, Jesus G. Zorrilla, Carlos Rial, Rosa M. Varela, Jose M. G. Molinillo, Jose M. Igartuburu, Francisco A. Macias
Summary: Strigolactones (SLs) are a prime example of allelochemicals that affect the germination of parasitic plants and the growth of symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Research on SLs is complex but shows great potential for agricultural applications.
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)
Review
Soil Science
Maede Faghihinia, Jan Jansa, Larry J. Halverson, Philip L. Staddon
Summary: The hyphosphere microbiome associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) plays a crucial role in soil carbon and nutrient cycling, soil food web dynamics, and plant nutrition and health. However, there is still incomplete understanding of the identities, roles, and mechanisms of interaction in the AMF hyphosphere. Innovative approaches and tools are needed to address the knowledge gaps and unresolved questions in this field.
BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Iver Jakobsen, Lisa Munkvold Murmann, Soren Rosendahl
Summary: The study investigated the impact of two fungicides on the performance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and found that low doses of the fungicides enhanced root colonization by AMF, while high doses suppressed their performance. The fungicides generated biphasic response curves in irradiated soil, indicating a hormetic effect on AMF.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Ruohui Zhang, Shanmin Qu, Bin Zhang, Ying Gao, Fu Xing
Summary: The interaction between poisonous weeds and neighboring plants is complex. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant pathogenic fungi (PPF) play important roles in the interspecific relationships of plants. This study found that the interaction between Leymus chinensis and Stellera chamaejasme significantly inhibited aboveground growth but promoted underground growth. As the proportion of S. chamaejasme increased, the nitrogen content and pH in the rhizosphere soil of L. chinensis decreased, while the relative abundance of AMF in L. chinensis rhizosphere soil increased. The study also revealed the regulatory role of AMF and PPF in the interactive effects of both plants.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Eva F. Leifheit, Anika Lehmann, Matthias C. Rillig
Summary: Microplastics have diverse effects on soil and plant growth, altering soil structure and microbial activity, which in turn affects the abundance and activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The impacts of microplastics may also change how plants respond to other global change factors, highlighting the need for further research on their overall impact on ecosystems.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xionggui Yang, Kaiping Shen, Tingting Xia, Yuejun He, Yun Guo, Bangli Wu, Xu Han, Jiawei Yan, Min Jiao
Summary: Plant invasion has caused significant damage to ecosystem stability and species diversity. The addition of exogenous phosphorus can alter the root growth and development of exotic and native plants, but its effects on the interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plants remain unclear.
Article
Agronomy
Rui Zhong, Lin Zhang, Xingxu Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the impact of Epichloe endophytes on grass-AMF symbiosis, revealing different effects on plant roots and soil AMF.
Article
Agronomy
Tao Zhang, Gu Feng
Summary: The study shows that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can reduce the negative impact of nutrient resource diversity on plant community composition by improving plant density and nutrient uptake, thus maintaining higher plant species diversity and increasing plant productivity.
Review
Agronomy
Xiaozhe Bao, Jixiang Zou, Bin Zhang, Longmei Wu, Taotao Yang, Qing Huang
Summary: Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and microorganisms in the rice mycorrhizosphere have significant impacts on the paddy ecosystem, and may play a crucial role in sustainable, low-input productivity.
Article
Ecology
Fiona Jevon, Ashley K. Lang
Summary: The allocation of tree biomass to leaves, roots, and wood has implications for carbon residence time and storage in ecosystems. This study found that the type of mycorrhizal association, along with climate and leaf habit, significantly influenced biomass allocation. Trees associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi allocated more biomass to root tissue compared to trees associated with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. Considering mycorrhizal associations could improve our understanding of ecosystem carbon storage.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jenalle L. Eck, Minna-Maarit Kytoviita, Anna-Liisa Laine
Summary: This field experiment in Finland revealed that mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can both increase host plant growth and infection rates. The impact of mycorrhizal fungi on disease severity varied among host genotypes and strengthened over time during the epidemic. Host genotypes that were more susceptible to the pathogen received stronger protective effects from inoculation.
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ruwanthika Kalamulla, Samantha C. Karunarathna, Saowaluck Tibpromma, Mahesh C. A. Galappaththi, Nakarin Suwannarach, Steven L. Stephenson, Suhail Asad, Ziad Salman Salem, Neelamanie Yapa
Summary: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play important roles in soil and plant productivity through their nutritional and non-nutritional functionalities. They maintain soil structure, change nutrient acquisition, alleviate stress, and interact with other microorganisms and plants, all of which contribute to plant growth and productivity.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Elisabeth B. Ward, Alexander Polussa, Mark A. Bradford
Summary: Plant mycorrhizal associations impact the accumulation and persistence of soil organic matter, which can affect how ecosystems respond to global changes. The co-occurrence of trees and shrubs with different mycorrhizal associations can influence soil organic matter pools, but more research is needed to understand these effects.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Maitree Pradhan, Ian T. Baldwin, Shree P. Pandey
Summary: Plants interact with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and alter the expression of miRNAs and their targets. The role of an Argonaute protein in regulating this interaction remains unknown. In this study, the silencing of NaAGO7 reduced the competitive ability of plants under low-P conditions without affecting their development. The roots of NaAGO7-silenced plants were over-colonized with AMF but accumulated less phosphate, and the expression of AMF-specific transporters was deregulated. Overexpression of certain miRNAs decreased plant fitness and downregulated targets in GA, ethylene, and fatty acid metabolism pathways.
Review
Plant Sciences
Lalith D. B. Suriyagoda, Megan H. Ryan, Clement E. Gille, Roberta L. C. Dayrell, Patrick M. Finnegan, Kosala Ranathunge, Dion Nicol, Hans Lambers
Summary: In this review, the allocation of phosphorus (P) fractions in leaf tissues of terrestrial vascular plants was investigated to determine its variation among different plant groups and its implications for efficient P use. It was found that increases in leaf total P concentration primarily occurred in the inorganic phosphate (P-i) fraction, while other fractions showed limited variation. The variability of P fraction concentrations was greater at the family level compared to species, regions, and plant life forms. The allocation of P to nucleic acid-P and lipid-P fractions showed less variation among families and species. High photosynthetic P-use efficiency was associated with lower concentrations of all P fractions and preferential allocation to metabolite-P and mesophyll cells. Sequential resorption of P from senescing leaves occurred in the order of P-i, metabolite-P, and other organic P fractions. Allocation of P to leaf P fractions also varied with season. Leaf phytate concentrations showed significant variation among species, potentially related to differences in photosynthesis and defense mechanisms. Plasticity in P allocation to fractions is important for adapting to low soil P availability, and species-specific P allocation is necessary for species coexistence.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hui Li, Yao Chen, Zhe Lu, Faming Wang, Hans Lambers, Jingfan Zhang, Guoming Qin, Jinge Zhou, Jingtao Wu, Lulu Zhang, Poonam Thapa, Xiankai Lu, Jiangming Mo
Summary: The availability of soil nitrogen and phosphorus has a significant impact on the stability of soil organic carbon. This study examined how different fractions of soil organic carbon and the soil microbial communities in a tropical forest are affected by soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability. The results showed that phosphorus addition increased soil microbial activities and promoted the decomposition of recalcitrant soil organic carbon, while nitrogen addition increased the abundance of active soil organic carbon.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhihui Wen, Jiayin Pang, Xiao Wang, Clement E. Gille, Axel De Borda, Patrick E. Hayes, Peta L. Clode, Megan H. Ryan, Kadambot H. M. Siddique, Jianbo Shen, Hans Lambers
Summary: The difference in photosynthetic phosphorus use efficiency (PPUE) among chickpea genotypes is attributed to optimized allocation to specific foliar phosphorus fractions rather than preferential allocation to specific leaf tissues. Genotypes with high PPUE show lower total foliar phosphorus concentration without slower photosynthetic rates. This study highlights the importance of allocation to different phosphorus fractions in determining PPUE.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Muhammad Asif, Idil Ertem, Huseyin Beyaz, Cynthia A. A. Grant, Hans Lambers, Ismail Cakmak
Summary: Rapeseed rotation can lead to increased cadmium concentration in wheat plants due to the suppression of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi activity.
Review
Agronomy
Ismail Cakmak, Hans Lambers, Cynthia A. Grant, Fang-Jie Zhao
Summary: Cadmium (Cd) levels in food crops can be increased through management activities and geogenic factors. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a significant role in reducing Cd accumulation in plants. AMF have various mechanisms to reduce shoot Cd accumulation, including immobilizing Cd in fungal structures and increasing root Zn uptake.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jiayin Pang, Megan H. H. Ryan, Zhihui Wen, Hans Lambers, Yifei Liu, Yi Zhang, Guillaume Tueux, Sasha Jenkins, Bede Mickan, Wei San Wong, Jean Wan Hong Yong, Kadambot H. M. Siddique
Summary: This study investigates the relationships between root nodulation, morphology, carboxylates, and colonisation by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) under varying phosphorus (P) levels and sources. The presence of AMF inhibits shoot growth and branching, decreases total root length and specific root length, increases mean root diameter and root tissue density, and reduces carboxylates. However, the role of AMF in P acquisition differs depending on the P source.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Qi Shen, Kosala Ranathunge, Hongtao Zhong, Patrick M. M. Finnegan, Hans Lambers
Summary: This study investigated how Adenanthos cygnorum, a Proteaceae plant in a low-phosphorus environment in southwestern Australia, acquires phosphorus. It was found that this plant did not produce functional cluster roots and relied on the release of organic acids from other phosphorus-mobilizing plants to acquire phosphorus. This reliance strongly depended on location. This study provides important insights into the phosphorus-acquisition strategies of different plants in severely phosphorus-impoverished environments.
Article
Agronomy
Yuki Tsujii, Baoli Fan, Brian J. Atwell, Hans Lambers, Zhangying Lei, Ian J. Wright
Summary: The allocation of leaf phosphorus (P) among different functions is coordinated with the leaf economic spectrum (LES) and plays a role in determining the co-occurrence of different species under P limitation. Pioneers exhibited higher total P concentration, particularly in fractions such as orthophosphate P (P-i), nucleic acid P (P-N) and lipid P (P-L), compared to non-pioneer species.
Article
Ecology
Hongtao Zhong, Wei San Wong, Jun Zhou, Adam T. Cross, Hans Lambers
Summary: Post-mining landscapes often lack self-sustaining plant communities and functional belowground microbial communities. Inappropriate management of soil can hinder ecological restoration of mine sites. The potential role of microbial inoculants and plant nutrient-acquisition strategies in improving mined substrates and facilitating mine-site restoration remains relatively unexplored.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Hao Yang, Wei-Ping Zhang, Rui-Peng Yu, Ye Su, Surigaoge Surigaoge, Pei-Xuan Wang, Xin Yang, Hans Lambers, Long Li
Summary: This study evaluated the relationships between functional traits resulting from interspecific interactions and determined relationships between functional traits and N acquisition of intercropping systems. The results showed that intercropping systems have higher N uptake capacity and can increase the quality of crop products by increasing crude protein production. The synergy and trade-offs in plant functional traits together enhance efficient N use in intercropping systems. These findings help to better understand the underlying mechanisms that determine efficient resource use in diverse cropping systems and have implications for the sustainable management of food-production systems.
FIELD CROPS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Lulu Zhang, Wenming Bai, Yunhai Zhang, Hans Lambers, Wen-Hao Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the effects of mowing on grassland ecosystem stability and finds that increasing mowing duration and decreasing stubble height can enhance stability. It also highlights the important role of plant defence traits in stabilizing ecosystem functions under human-induced environmental changes.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xin Zhao, Yang Lyu, Qianqian Dong, Xiyong He, Hai Yue, Liping Yang, Liang Tao, Lidan Gong, Hongxu Zheng, Sijie Wen, Hans Lambers, Jianbo Shen
Summary: Knowledge of the ionome of Macadamia, an important nut-producing tree, is limited. This study found that roots, stems, branches, and leaves of Macadamia have different proportions of dry weight in the total plant weight. Macadamia has low phosphorus and zinc concentrations, but high manganese concentrations, with leaves being the most nutrient-rich organs.
FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Weiyuan Zhang, Jirui Gong, Zihe Zhang, Liangyuan Song, Hans Lambers, Siqi Zhang, Jiaojiao Dong, Xuede Dong, Yuxia Hu
Summary: Phosphorus fertilization can alleviate soil P deficiency in grassland ecosystems, and understanding plant functional traits that enhance P uptake can improve grassland management. The study measured the effects of P addition on various factors and found correlations between root P-uptake rate and net photosynthetic rate for different grass species. Nonstructural carbohydrates appeared to drive the modifications of root morphology and exudation. These results provide an objective basis for more efficient P-input in grasslands to address the urgent problem of P deficiency.
Article
Soil Science
Zhijian Mou, Luhui Kuang, Jing Zhang, Yue Li, Wenjia Wu, Chao Liang, Dafeng Hui, Hans Lambers, Jordi Sardans, Josep Penuelas, Juxiu Liu, Hai Ren, Zhanfeng Liu
Summary: The persistence of soil organic carbon (SOC) is influenced by microbial metabolic activities, but how microbial effects on SOC sequestration are affected by soil nutrient status remains unclear. This study found that higher nutrient availability promoted the production and accumulation of microbial necromass, enhancing SOC accumulation in fertile soil. In contrast, nutrient deficiency led to preferential resource allocation to stress-tolerant fungi and Gram-positive bacteria, resulting in SOC loss in infertile sand.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Xupeng Zhao, Cunkang Hao, Ruqiang Zhang, Nianyuan Jiao, Jing Tian, Hans Lambers, Chao Liang, Wen-Feng Cong, Fusuo Zhang
Summary: Intercropping can increase soil organic matter, especially fungal necromass, through enhanced biomass input. The accumulation of microbial necromass is related to microbial life strategies and network stability.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
