Codependency between plant and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities: what is the evidence?

Kokkoris, Vasilis; Lekberg, Ylva; Antunes, Pedro M.; Fahey, Catherine; Fordyce, James A.; Kivlin, Stephanie N.; Hart, Miranda M.

doi:10.1111/nph.16676

Cited by 33 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Future studies should now examine this critical question by investigating the potential beneficial effects of AMF dikaryons for plant communities, and determine their distribution and frequency in the field and across distinct environmental conditions. Accounting for AMF nuclear status in ecological models could be key for answering questions of mycorrhizal ecology ( Kokkoris et al, 2020b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy

et al. 2021

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate plant symbionts that have the potential to improve crop yield. These multinucleate organisms are either “homokaryotic” or “dikaryotic”. In AMF dikaryons, thousands of nuclei originating from two parental strains coexist in the same cytoplasm. In other fungi, homokaryotic and dikaryotic strains show distinct life history traits (LHTs), such as variation in growth rates and fitness. However, how such traits compare between dikaryons and homokaryons of AMF is unknown. To address this, we measured 20 LHT of four dikaryons and five homokaryons of the model fungus Rhizophagus irregularis across root organ cultures of three host plants (carrot, chicory, and tobacco). Our analyses show that dikaryons have clearly distinct life history strategies (LHSs) compared to homokaryons. In particular, spores of homokaryons germinate faster and to a higher proportion than dikaryons, whereas dikaryons grow significantly faster and create a more complex hyphal network irrespective of host plant species. Our study links AMF nuclear status with key LHT with possible implications for mycorrhizal symbiotic functioning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy

et al. 2021

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“…Our results add to the growing number of cases of host specificity among AM fungal taxa (Kokkoris et al, 2020). Previous constraints on sequencing capacity limited the ability to sample AM fungi within the same plant hosts over multiple environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…For example, shifts in plant host identity or function following fire or urbanization may indirectly affect obligate AM fungal symbionts by altering symbiosis outcomes. In global analyses, AM fungal abundance, diversity, and composition all vary among plant hosts species (Kokkoris et al, 2020) and plant functional groups (Davison et al, 2020). Moreover, AM fungal communities are also sensitive to plant host age (Husband et al, 2002), photosynthetic rates (Konvalinkova et al, 2015), and stress (Kazenel et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal response to fire and urbanization in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Kivlin

Harpe

Turner

et al. 2021

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity as drier and warmer climates increase plant detrital fuel loads. At the same time, increases in urbanization position 9% of fire-prone land within the United States at the wildland–urban interface. While rarely studied, the compounded effects of urbanization and wildfires may have unknown synergistically negative effects on ecosystems. Previous studies at the wildland–urban interface often focus on aboveground plant communities, but belowground ecosystems may also be affected by this double disturbance. In particular, it is unclear how much fire and urbanization independently or interactively affect nutritional symbioses such as those between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and the majority of terrestrial plants. In November 2016, extreme drought conditions and long-term fire suppression combined to create a wildfire within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the neighboring exurban city of Gatlinburg, TN. To understand how the double disturbance of urbanization and fire affected AM fungal communities, we collected fine roots from the 5 dominant understory species in September 2018 at each of 18 sites spanning 3 burn severities in both exurban and natural sites. Despite large variation in burn severity, plant species identity had the largest influence on AM fungi. AM fungal colonization, richness, and composition all varied most among plant species. Fire and urbanization did influence some AM fungal metrics; colonization was lower in burned sites and composition was more variable among exurban locations. There were no interactions among burn severity and urbanization on AM fungi. Our results point to the large influence of plant species identity structuring this obligate nutritional symbiosis regardless of disturbance regime. Therefore, the majority of AM fungal taxa may be buffered from fire-induced ecosystem changes if plant community composition largely remains intact, plant species life history traits allow for AM fungal persistence after fire disturbance, and/or nearby undisturbed habitat can act as an inoculum source for recolonization following fires. Thus, it is critical to maintain natural, undisturbed habitats interspersed within the wildland–urban interface.

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“…Natural communities are often composed of plant species that vary in the degree to which they benefit from AM symbioses (Wilson and Hartnett, 1998). There appear to be no AM fungi that are consistently beneficial to all plant hosts (Klironomos, 2003), and with the exception of mycoheterotrophic plants, there is little evidence for codependency or specificity between particular species of plants and AM fungi (Kokkoris et al, 2020a).…”

Section: Mycorrhizal Phenotype Is An Emergent Property Of Mycorrhizalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Multilevel Selection May Facilitate Management of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Agroecosystems

Johnson

Gibson

2021

Front. Plant Sci.

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Studies in natural ecosystems show that adaptation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and other microbial plant symbionts to local environmental conditions can help ameliorate stress and optimize plant fitness. This local adaptation arises from the process of multilevel selection, which is the simultaneous selection of a hierarchy of groups. Studies of multilevel selection in natural ecosystems may inform the creation of sustainable agroecosystems through developing strategies to effectively manage crop microbiomes including AM symbioses. Field experiments show that the species composition of AM fungal communities varies across environmental gradients, and that the biomass of AM fungi and their benefits for plants generally diminish when fertilization and irrigation eliminate nutrient and water limitations. Furthermore, pathogen protection by mycorrhizas is only important in environments prone to plant damage due to pathogens. Consequently, certain agricultural practices may inadvertently select for less beneficial root symbioses because the conventional agricultural practices of fertilization, irrigation, and use of pesticides can make these symbioses superfluous for optimizing crop performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine how multilevel selection influences the flow of matter, energy, and genetic information through mycorrhizal microbiomes in natural and agricultural ecosystems, and propose testable hypotheses about how mycorrhizae may be actively managed to increase agricultural sustainability.

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Codependency between plant and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities: what is the evidence?

Cited by 33 publications

References 100 publications

Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy

Homo- and Dikaryons of the Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Rhizophagus irregularis Differ in Life History Strategy

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal response to fire and urbanization in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Understanding Multilevel Selection May Facilitate Management of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Agroecosystems

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