Beyond the rootzone: Unveiling soil property and biota gradients around plants.

Although the effects of plants on soil properties are well known, the effects of distance from plant roots to root-free soil on soil properties and associated soil organisms are much less studied. Previous research on the effects of distance from a plant explored specific soil organisms and properties, however, comparative studies across a wide range of plant-associated organisms and multiple model systems are lacking. We conducted a controlled greenhouse experiment using soil from two contrasting habitats.

Environmental heterogeneity structures root-associated fungal communities in Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae), a shrub adapted to extreme rocky habitats.

Rocky habitats, globally distributed ecosystems, harbour diverse biota, including numerous endemic and endangered species. Vascular plants thriving in these environments face challenging abiotic conditions, requiring diverse morphological and physiological adaptations. Their engagement with the surrounding microbiomes is, however, equally vital for their adaptation, fitness, and long-term survival.

Soil compaction reversed the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on soil hydraulic properties.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) typically provide a wide range of nutritional benefits to their host plants, and their role in plant water uptake, although still controversial, is often cited as one of the hallmarks of this symbiosis. Less attention has been dedicated to other effects relating to water dynamics that the presence of AMF in soils may have. Evidence that AMF can affect soil hydraulic properties is only beginning to emerge.

Asymmetric Interaction Between Two Mycorrhizal Fungal Guilds and Consequences for the Establishment of Their Host Plants.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (EcM) are the most abundant and widespread types of mycorrhizal symbiosis, but there is little and sometimes conflicting information regarding the interaction between AM fungi (AMF) and EcM fungi (EcMF) in soils. Their competition for resources can be particularly relevant in successional ecosystems, which usually present a transition from AM-forming herbaceous vegetation to EcM-forming woody species. The aims of this study were to describe the interaction between mycorrhizal fungal communities associated with AM and EcM hosts naturally coexisting during primary succession on spoil banks and to evaluate how this interaction affects growth and mycorrhizal colonization of seedlings of both species.

Symbiosis of isoetid plant species with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under aquatic versus terrestrial conditions.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonize the roots of numerous aquatic and wetland plants, but the establishment and functioning of mycorrhizal symbiosis in submerged habitats have received only little attention. Three pot experiments were conducted to study the interaction of isoetid plants with native AMF. In the first experiment, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis did not establish in roots of Isoëtes echinospora and I.

Facilitation of plant water uptake by an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus: a Gordian knot of roots and hyphae.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a positive role in plant water relations, and the AM symbiosis is often cited as beneficial for overcoming drought stress of host plants. Nevertheless, water uptake via mycorrhizal hyphal networks has been little addressed experimentally, especially so through isotope tracing. In a greenhouse study conducted in two-compartment rhizoboxes, Medicago truncatula was planted in the primary compartment (PC), either inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis or left uninoculated.

Sympatric diploid and tetraploid cytotypes of Centaurea stoebe s.l. do not differ in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities and mycorrhizal growth response.

Premise Of The Study: Genome duplication is associated with multiple changes at different levels, including interactions with pollinators and herbivores. Yet little is known whether polyploidy may also shape belowground interactions.

Methods: To elucidate potential ploidy-specific interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), we compared mycorrhizal colonization and assembly of AMF communities in roots of diploid and tetraploid Centaurea stoebe s.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and associated microbial communities from dry grassland do not improve plant growth on abandoned field soil.

After abandonment of agricultural fields, some grassland plant species colonize these sites with a frequency equivalent to dry grasslands (generalists) while others are missing or underrepresented in abandoned fields (specialists). We aimed to understand the inability of specialists to spread on abandoned fields by exploring whether performance of generalists and specialists depended on soil abiotic and/or biotic legacy. We performed a greenhouse experiment with 12 species, six specialists and six generalists.

Asymmetric response of root-associated fungal communities of an arbuscular mycorrhizal grass and an ectomycorrhizal tree to their coexistence in primary succession.

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) grass Calamagrostis epigejos and predominantly ectomycorrhizal (EcM) tree Salix caprea co-occur at post-mining sites spontaneously colonized by vegetation. During succession, AM herbaceous vegetation is replaced by predominantly EcM woody species. To better understand the interaction of AM and EcM plants during vegetation transition, we studied the reciprocal effects of these species' coexistence on their root-associated fungi (RAF).

The effect of balance training intervention on postural stability in children with asthma.

Objective: Pulmonary rehabilitation is mainly focused on exercise training and breathing retraining in children with asthma. Conversely, balance training is not usually recommended for the treatment, although postural deficits were found in these patients. Therefore, this study assessed the effect of balance training intervention on postural stability in children with asthma.

Plant Communities Rather than Soil Properties Structure Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities along Primary Succession on a Mine Spoil.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) community assembly during primary succession has so far received little attention. It remains therefore unclear, which of the factors, driving AMF community composition, are important during ecosystem development. We addressed this question on a large spoil heap, which provides a mosaic of sites in different successional stages under different managements.

Comparison of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal effects on the heavy metal uptake of a host and a non-host plant species in contact with extraradical mycelial network.

The effects of inoculation with an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus on Cd and Ni tolerance and uptake in Medicago sativa, an AM host, and Sesuvium portulacastrum, a non-host plant, were investigated in a greenhouse experiment. The plants were cultivated in sterilized sand in a two-compartmented system, which prevented root competition but enabled colonization of the whole substrate by AM fungal extraradical mycelium. M.

Nutrient limitation drives response of Calamagrostis epigejos to arbuscular mycorrhiza in primary succession.

Little is known about the functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis over the course of primary succession, where soil, host plants, and AM fungal communities all undergo significant changes. Over the course of succession at the studied post-mining site, plant cover changes from an herbaceous community to the closed canopy of a deciduous forest. Calamagrostis epigejos (Poaceae) is a common denominator at all stages, and it dominates among AM host species.

Postural stability in school-age children with mild bronchial asthma disease (a pilot study).

Objective: This study assessed the postural stability in children with asthma using balance tests under conditions of a comfortable foot placement and with a foot placement provoking instability.

Methods: A group of 10 school children from 8 to 10 years old with mild intermittent asthma and 10 healthy children of the same age range performed four balance tests in a randomized order: preferred stance, adjusted stance, and tandem stance each under both conditions of eyes opened (EO) and eyes closed (EC), as well as a one-legged stance with eyes-opened conditions. To determine postural stability, the center of pressure (CoP) movement was recorded.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza differentially affects synthesis of essential oils in coriander and dill.

Research on the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the synthesis of essential oils (EOs) by aromatic plants has seldom been conducted in field-relevant conditions, and then, only limited spectra of EO constituents have been analyzed. The effect was investigated of inoculation with AMF on the synthesis of a wide range of EO in two aromatic species, coriander (Coriandrum sativum) and dill (Anethum graveolens), in a garden experiment under outdoor conditions. Plants were grown in 4-l pots filled with soil, which was either γ-irradiated (eliminating native AMF) or left non-sterile (containing native AMF), and inoculated or not with an isolate of Rhizophagus irregularis.

The importance of arbuscular mycorrhiza for Cyclamen purpurascens subsp. immaculatum endemic in Slovakia.

At present, there is no relevant information on arbuscular mycorrhiza and the effect of the symbiosis on the growth of wild populations of cyclamens. To fill this gap, two populations of Cyclamen purpurascens subsp. immaculatum, endemic in Nízke Tatry (NT) mountains and Veľká Fatra (VF) mountains, Slovakia, were studied in situ as well as in a greenhouse pot experiment.

Intraspecific ploidy variation: A hidden, minor player in plant-soil-mycorrhizal fungi interactions.

Premise Of The Study: Genome duplication and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis are ubiquitous in angiosperms. While the significance of each of these phenomena separately has been intensively studied, their interaction remains to be understood.

Methods: Three diploid and three hexaploid populations of Aster amellus (Asteraceae) were characterized in terms of the soil conditions in situ and mycorrhizal root colonization.

The effect of AMF suppression on plant species composition in a nutrient-poor dry grassland.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are expected to be one of the key drivers determining the diversity of natural plant communities, especially in nutrient-poor and dry habitats. Several previous studies have explored the importance of AMF for the composition of plant communities in various types of habitats. Surprisingly, studies of the role of AMF in nutrient-poor dry grassland communities dominated by less mycotrophic plant species are still relatively rare.

Surprising spectra of root-associated fungi in submerged aquatic plants.

Similarly to plants from terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic species harbour wide spectra of root-associated fungi (RAF). However, comparably less is known about fungal diversity in submerged roots. We assessed the incidence and diversity of RAF in submerged aquatic plants using microscopy, culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques.

Ploidy-specific interactions of three host plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: Does genome copy number matter?

Premise Of The Study: Polyploidy has been shown to affect different plant traits and modulate interactions between plants and other organisms, such as pollinators and herbivores. However, no information is available on whether it can also shape the functioning of mycorrhizal symbiosis. •

Methods: The mycorrhizal growth response was assessed for three angiosperms with intraspecific ploidy variation.

The response of Aster amellus (Asteraceae) to mycorrhiza depends on the origins of both the soil and the fungi.

Premise Of Study: Previous studies testing pairwise interactions between plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and soil have shown that the effectiveness of such interactions depends on the origins of the plants, soil, and AMF. Surprisingly, no study has yet looked at the three-way interaction between plants, soil, and AMF originating from the same and from different sites. Such knowledge could elucidate the determinants of local adaptations of plants and thus might help in various revegetation attempts.

Extraradical mycelium of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi radiating from large plants depresses the growth of nearby seedlings in a nutrient deficient substrate.

The effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) on the interaction of large plants and seedlings in an early succession situation was investigated in a greenhouse experiment using compartmented rhizoboxes. Tripleurospermum inodorum, a highly mycorrhiza-responsive early coloniser of spoil banks, was cultivated either non-mycorrhizal or inoculated with AM fungi in the central compartment of the rhizoboxes. After two months, seedlings of T.

Differences in AM fungal root colonization between populations of perennial Aster species have genetic reasons.

We tested the hypothesis whether differences between plant populations in root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi could be caused by genetic differentiation between populations. In addition, we investigated whether the response to AM fungi differs between plants from different populations and if it is affected by the soil in which the plants are cultivated. We used Aster amellus, which occurs in fragmented dry grasslands, as a model species and we studied six different populations from two regions, which varied in soil nutrient concentration.

Cultivation of high-biomass crops on coal mine spoil banks: can microbial inoculation compensate for high doses of organic matter?

Two greenhouse experiments were focused on the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in planting of high-biomass crops on reclaimed spoil banks. In the first experiment, we tested the effects of different organic amendments on growth of alfalfa and on the introduced microorganisms. While growth of plants was supported in substrate with compost amendment, mycorrhizal colonization was suppressed.