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
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
Soil Science
Ylva Lekberg, Erland Baath, Asa Frostegard, Edith Hammer, Katarina Hedlund, Jan Jansa, Christina Kaiser, Philip W. Ramsey, Tomas Rezanka, Johannes Rousk, Hakan Wallander, Monika Welc, Pal Axel Olsson
Summary: This article discusses the application and issues of using the fatty acid 16:1 omega 5 as a biomarker for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soils, advocating for the use of neutral lipid fatty acid 16:1 omega 5 and highlighting the need for future research to optimize fatty acid analysis methods.
BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
(2022)
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)
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.
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
Microbiology
Sulaimon Basiru, Hopkins Pachalo Mwanza, Mohamed Hijri
Summary: Efficient management of root-associated microbiomes is crucial for improving crop yield and reducing environmental footprint. Various plant symbionts, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, have entered large-scale applications in agriculture. Research on the combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi with other beneficial microbes should be further conducted to maximize their potential in crop production.
Article
Plant Sciences
Stephanie J. Watts-Williams, Stefanie Wege, Sunita A. Ramesh, Oliver Berkowitz, Bo Xu, Matthew Gilliham, James Whelan, Stephen D. Tyerman
Summary: Soil micronutrient availability, particularly zinc (Zn), is a limiting factor in crop yield. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi facilitate nutrient uptake in host plants through the mycorrhizal pathway. In this study, RNA-seq analysis revealed that the putative Zn transporter gene, MtZIP14, was up-regulated in Medicago truncatula roots during colonization by Rhizophagus irregularis. Loss-of-function mutant plants lacking MtZIP14 showed reduced shoot biomass when grown under low Zn concentration and colonized by AM fungi, implicating a role for MtZIP14 in plant Zn nutrition and AM colonization.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrea Corona Ramirez, Sarah Symanczik, Tabea Gallusser, Natacha Bodenhausen
Summary: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a reliable and high-throughput method for assessing the symbiotic relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plants. This study compared qPCR with the traditional microscopy method and found a strong correlation between the two methods for wheat (cv. Colmetta and Wiwa) and tomato, but not for leek, highlighting the importance of testing the primer pair for each specific crop.
Review
Plant Sciences
Wenli Sun, Mohamad Hesam Shahrajabian
Summary: Biostimulant application is an effective and sustainable way to supplement crop nutrition, reduce excessive fertilization, and protect plants from environmental stresses. Biostimulants, both microbial and non-microbial, provide beneficial properties to plants, promote crop yield and quality, and enhance soil fertility. Among microbial biostimulants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a crucial role in sustainable agriculture by improving nutrient availability, uptake, and assimilation, increasing plant stress tolerance, and reducing soil erosion. Further research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of different biostimulants in sustainable agriculture.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zengyu Zhang, Bei Li, Yongxian Liu, Lixin He, Ting Pang, Zongdao Chen, Md Jahidul Islam Shohag, Xiuyan Miao, Xi Li, Minghua Gu, Yanyan Wei
Summary: Selenium is an essential trace element for humans, and AMF inoculation and selenium fertilizer application have a promoting effect on selenium uptake in soybean. Fertilization with selenite and inoculation with different AMF strains affect the speciation, biomass and accumulation of selenium in soybean. The combined use of AMF inoculation and selenium fertilizer increases the bioavailable selenium in soil and promotes the total selenium concentration and organic selenium accumulation in soybean. These results suggest that AMF inoculation combined with selenium fertilizer can be a promising strategy for selenium biofortification in soybean.
Review
Plant Sciences
Mostafa Amani Machiani, Abdollah Javanmard, Reyhaneh Habibi Machiani, Amir Sadeghpour
Summary: Medicinal and aromatic plants are capable of synthesizing a variety of secondary metabolites. The symbiotic association between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and medicinal and aromatic plants can enhance the production and quality of the secondary metabolites, making it a new eco-friendly technology in sustainable agricultural systems.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xinyu Xu, Yunpeng Qiu, Kangcheng Zhang, Fei Yang, Mengfei Chen, Xi Luo, Xuebin Yan, Peng Wang, Yi Zhang, Huaihai Chen, Hui Guo, Lin Jiang, Shuijin Hu
Summary: The research showed that warming affects the composition and diversity of AMF communities, reducing their abundance and utilization of N and P in the soil. Changes in precipitation increased the quantity of AMF but did not significantly impact the composition of the communities.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Veronika Jilkova, Katerina Jandova, Tomas Cajthaml, Jaroslav Kukla, Jan Jansa
Summary: Coniferous forest ecosystems in the Northern temperate zone are important pools of soil organic carbon. This study investigated differences in the flow of dissolved organic C through a forest mineral topsoil via needle leachates, root exudates, and their combination. Needle leachates were less utilized by the microbial community but caused a higher priming effect compared to root exudates.
Article
Soil Science
Wei Fu, Baodong Chen, Jan Jansa, Honghui Wu, Wang Ma, Wentao Luo, Chong Xu, Zhipeng Hao, Hui Wu, Qiang Yu, Xingguo Han
Summary: Root fungal communities are sensitive to extreme drought, while soil fungal communities are resistant. Plant communities mediate the response of root fungal communities to drought, but have no effect on soil fungal communities.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Sergio Saia, Jan Jansa
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David Gutierrez-Larruscain, Manuela Kruger, Oushadee A. J. Abeyawardana, Claudia Belz, Petre I. Dobrev, Radomira Vankova, Katerina Eliasova, Zuzana Vondrakova, Miloslav Juricek, Helena Storchova
Summary: This study conducted a transcriptomic survey of floral induction in Chenopodium ficifolium accession 459, a close relative of Chenopodium quinoa, to understand the gene expression changes and the role of phytohormones in flowering. The findings contribute to a better understanding of growth and development regulation in the Chenopodium genus.
Article
Agronomy
Paula A. Buil, Jan Jansa, Alena Blazkova, Ondrej Holubik, Renata Duffkova, Martin Rozmos, David Puschel, Michala Kotianova, Martina Janouskova
Summary: This study examined the effects of native arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities from conventionally managed arable soils on plant growth and nutrient uptake. The results showed that arbuscular mycorrhiza had a negative correlation with P availability, and the positive effects of mycorrhiza were more pronounced in a small subset of soils.
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
Plant Sciences
Lioba Rueger, Minh Ganther, Jule Freudenthal, Jan Jansa, Anna Heintz-Buschart, Mika Tapio Tarkka, Michael Bonkowski
Summary: Plants have a significant impact on the development of microbial communities in their rhizosphere, and the role of root caps and specific root zones in microbial community assembly is still unclear. In this study, the composition of prokaryote and protist microbiomes along maize roots was compared between intact and decapped roots, as well as between wild type and root hairless mutant. The absence of root caps had a stronger effect on microbiome composition than the absence of root hairs, affecting microbial community composition at older root zones and higher trophic levels.
Review
Agronomy
Thomas W. Kuyper, Jan Jansa
Summary: This review discusses recent developments in AM research, including the role of AM symbiosis in plant acquisition of nutrients and water from soil, effects on plant stoichiometry and the carbon cycle, hyphosphere microbiome, facultative mycorrhizal plants, explanations for lack of mycorrhizal benefit, common mycorrhizal networks, and arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal ecosystems. It concludes that previous descriptions of mycorrhizal "dogmas" are supported by multiple studies but may be geographically biased, and that research in different ecosystems may uncover a greater diversity of mycorrhizal strategies. The review also highlights the increasing tendency to overinterpret data, which may hinder the mechanistic understanding of processes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jeanette Rosas-Moreno, Christopher Walker, Katie Duffy, Claudia Kruger, Manuela Kruger, Clare H. Robinson, Jon K. Pittman
Summary: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were isolated from naturally radioactive soil samples at the abandoned South Terras uranium mine in Cornwall, UK. Cultures of Rhizophagus, Claroideoglomus, Paraglomus, Septoglomus, and Ambispora were established and used in pot experiments to study metal and radionuclide transfer into Plantago lanceolata. The study found that the presence of Rhizophagus irregularis enhanced copper, zinc, arsenic, and uranium accumulation in the plant.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Mohanned Abdalla, Michael Bitterlich, Jan Jansa, David Pueschel, Mutez A. Ahmed
Summary: This article reviews the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in improving crop drought tolerance, highlighting their effects on water supply and the biophysical mechanisms involved. Using a soil-plant hydraulic model, the authors demonstrate how AMF can enhance water transport in the soil and extend root length to mitigate the impact of soil drying on plant water potential. The synthesis of evidence and simulations suggest that AMF symbiosis postpones the onset of stress by regulating transpiration rates and leaf water potentials during drought, thus promoting crop survival under limited water availability. The article also calls for future research to integrate soil and root hydraulic dynamics in order to better understand the role of AMF in plant-water relations under changing climate conditions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tomas Rezanka, Hana Hrselova, Lucie Kyselova, Jan Jansa
Summary: This study focused on the use of complex polar lipids as biomarkers to detect and quantify arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in plant and soil samples. The analysis revealed specific molecular species in mycorrhizal roots, suggesting the possibility of using these biomarkers for quantification of AM fungi.
Article
Soil Science
David Pueschel, Michael Bitterlich, Jana Rydlova, Petra Bukovsk, Radka Sudova, Jan Jansa
Summary: Drought under global change poses a threat to plant growth and nutrition. This study investigated the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus in plant uptake of nitrogen from different sources along a soil moisture gradient. The results showed that mycorrhizal plants had a higher uptake of nitrogen compared to nonmycorrhizal plants, and this advantage was observed across different moisture levels.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Martina Janouskova, Michael Remke, Nancy Collins Johnson, Alena Blazkova, Jana Rydlova, Zuzana Kolarikova, Matthew A. Bowker
Summary: Symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi play a crucial role in plant establishment and growth, especially in harsh environments. However, the response of transferred mycorrhizal fungal communities to new environments has been largely ignored. This study found that the composition of mycorrhizal communities in plant roots was mainly determined by the initial inoculum, while soil and climatic conditions had a smaller impact. The level of root colonization by mycorrhizal fungi was significantly influenced by climate and soil conditions, but not by the origin of the communities.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)