Plant Species Richness and the Root Economics Space Drive Soil Fungal Communities.

Trait-based approaches have been increasingly used to relate plants to soil microbial communities. Using the recently described root economics space as an approach to explain the structure of soil-borne fungal communities, our study in a grassland diversity experiment reveals distinct root trait strategies at the plant community level. In addition to significant effects of plant species richness, we show that the collaboration and conservation gradient are strong drivers of the composition of the different guilds of soil fungi.

From C-lignin to C-mycelium: uses polymeric lignin as a carbon source.

Plant biomass conversion by saprotrophic fungi plays a pivotal role in terrestrial carbon (C) cycling. The general consensus is that fungi metabolize carbohydrates, while lignin is only degraded and mineralized to CO. Recent research, however, demonstrated fungal conversion of C-monoaromatic compounds into proteinogenic amino acids.

Accumulation of Health-Promoting Compounds in Upland Black Rice by Interacting Mycorrhizal and Endophytic Fungi.

There is an increasing interest in finding eco-friendly and safe approaches to increase agricultural productivity and deliver healthy foods. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and endophytic fungi (EPF) are important components of sustainable agriculture in view of their ability to increase productivity and various plant secondary metabolites with health-promoting effects. In a pot experiment, our main research question was to evaluate the additive and synergistic effects of an AMF and four root-endophytic fungi on plant performance and on the accumulation of health-promoting secondary compounds.

The secretome of : Temporal dynamics of plant polysaccharides and lignin degradation.

Despite substantial lignocellulose conversion during mycelial growth, previous transcriptome and proteome studies have not yet revealed how secretomes from the edible mushroom develop and whether they modify lignin models . To clarify these aspects, secretomes collected throughout a 15-day industrial substrate production and from axenic lab-cultures were subjected to proteomics, and tested on polysaccharides and lignin models. Secretomes (day 6-15) comprised endo-acting and substituent-removing glycoside hydrolases, whereas β-xylosidase and glucosidase activities gradually decreased.

Oxidation-driven lignin removal by Agaricus bisporus from wheat straw-based compost at industrial scale.

Fungi are main lignin degraders and the edible white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, inhabits lignocellulose-rich environments. Previous research hinted at delignification when A. bisporus colonized pre-composted wheat straw-based substrate in an industrial setting, assumed to aid subsequent release of monosaccharides from (hemi-)cellulose to form fruiting bodies.

Mycorrhiza-mediated recruitment of complete denitrifying Pseudomonas reduces NO emissions from soil.

Background: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are key soil organisms and their extensive hyphae create a unique hyphosphere associated with microbes actively involved in N cycling. However, the underlying mechanisms how AMF and hyphae-associated microbes may cooperate to influence NO emissions from "hot spot" residue patches remain unclear. Here we explored the key microbes in the hyphosphere involved in NO production and consumption using amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing.

A trade-off between space exploration and mobilization of organic phosphorus through associated microbiomes enables niche differentiation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the same root.

Ecology seeks to explain species coexistence, but experimental tests of mechanisms for coexistence are difficult to conduct. We synthesized an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal community with three fungal species that differed in their capacity of foraging for orthophosphate (P) due to differences in soil exploration. We tested whether AM fungal species-specific hyphosphere bacterial assemblages recruited by hyphal exudates enabled differentiation among the fungi in the capacity of mobilizing soil organic P (P).

Promoting growth and production of sunchoke () by co-inoculation with phosphate solubilizing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under drought.

Due to different functions of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), their potential synergistic effects on enhancing plant growth and yield are worth investigating, especially under adverse conditions. This work focused on the isolation of PSB and characterization for their plant growth promoting properties under drought. The most efficient P solubilizing bacterium was isolated and identified as strain KKUT8-1.

Enhancement of growth and Cannabinoids content of hemp () using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to promote growth and cannabinoid yield of KKU05. A completely randomized design (CRD) was conducted with six replications for 60 days. Two different species of AMF, PC2-2 and BM-3 g3 were selected as inocula and compared with two non-mycorrhizal controls, one without synthetic fertilizer and one with synthetic NPK fertilizer.

Nitrogen availability mediates the priming effect of soil organic matter by preferentially altering the straw carbon-assimilating microbial community.

Straw incorporation into soil increases carbon (C) sequestration but can induce priming effects (PE), the enhanced breakdown of soil organic matter. The direction and magnitude of PE and the consequences for the C balance induced by straw addition depend on nitrogen (N) availability and soil management history. Using C-labeled maize straw, we conducted a 56-day incubation to determine the dynamics of PE and the underlying microbial mechanisms after straw and/or mineral N addition to three soils with contrasting cultivation and fertilization histories, i) unfertilized soil (Unfertilized), ii) 8 years farmyard manure amended soil (Manured), and iii) abandoned cropland soil (Abandoned).

Breeding Beyond Monoculture: Putting the "Intercrop" Into Crops.

Intercropping is both a well-established and yet novel agricultural practice, depending on one's perspective. Such perspectives are principally governed by geographic location and whether monocultural practices predominate. Given the negative environmental effects of monoculture agriculture (loss of biodiversity, reliance on non-renewable inputs, soil degradation, etc.

Ancestral predisposition toward a domesticated lifestyle in the termite-cultivated fungus Termitomyces.

The ancestor of termites relied on gut symbionts for degradation of plant material, an association that persists in all termite families. However, the single-lineage Macrotermitinae has additionally acquired a fungal symbiont that complements digestion of food outside the termite gut. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that fungi grown by these termites form a clade-the genus Termitomyces-but the events leading toward domestication remain unclear.

Ectomycorrhizas and tipping points in forest ecosystems.

The resilience of forests is compromised by human-induced environmental influences pushing them towards tipping points and resulting in major shifts in ecosystem state that might be difficult to reverse, are difficult to predict and manage, and can have vast ecological, economic and social consequences. The literature on tipping points has grown rapidly, but almost exclusively based on aquatic and aboveground systems. So far little effort has been made to make links to soil systems, where change is not as drastically apparent, timescales may differ and recovery may be slower.

Mycorrhizal associations change root functionality: a 3D modelling study on competitive interactions between plants for light and nutrients.

Recent studies show that the variation in root functional traits can be explained by a two-dimensional trait framework, containing a 'collaboration' axis in addition to the classical fast-slow 'conservation' axis. This collaboration axis spans from thin and highly branched roots that employ a 'do-it-yourself' strategy to thick and sparsely branched roots that 'outsource' nutrient uptake to symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Here, we explore the functionality of this collaboration axis by quantifying how interactions with AMF change the impact of root traits on plant performance.

Colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improves salinity tolerance of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) seedlings.

Soil salinity affects soil quality and reduces plant performance. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can enhance the tolerance of plants under salinity stress. Cultivation of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), which exhibits high water use efficiency, is possible in saline areas to produce raw materials for the pulp industry.

Syndromes of production in intercropping impact yield gains.

Intercropping, the simultaneous production of multiple crops on the same field, provides opportunities for the sustainable intensification of agriculture if it can provide a greater yield per unit land and fertilizer than sole crops. The worldwide absolute yield gain of intercropping as compared with sole crops has not been analysed. We therefore performed a global meta-analysis to quantify the effect of intercropping on the yield gain, exploring the effects of crop species combinations, temporal and spatial arrangements, and fertilizer input.

Increased arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization reduces yield loss of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under drought.

Drought reduces the availability of soil water and the mobility of nutrients, thereby limiting the growth and productivity of rice. Under drought, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increase P uptake and sustain rice growth. However, we lack knowledge of how the AMF symbiosis contributes to drought tolerance of rice.

Interaction between Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Growth Promotion and Tuber Inulin Content of Helianthus tuberosus L.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) could interact synergistically because PSB solubilize sparingly available phosphorous compounds into orthophosphate that AMF can absorb and transport to the host plant. Little is known about the interactions between these two groups in terms of promoting Jerusalem artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus L., which is widely planted by farmers because of its high inulin content.

Rhizoplane Bacteria and Plant Species Co-determine Phosphorus-Mediated Microbial Legacy Effect.

Much effort has been directed toward increasing the availability of soil residual phosphorus (P). However, little information is available for the P fertilization-induced biotic P legacy and its mediation of plant P uptake. We collected microbial inocula from a monoculture maize field site with a 10-year P-fertilization history.