Microfungi in Ecosystems: Fungal Occurrence and Activity in Litter and Soil

Kjøller, Annelise; Struwe, Sten

doi:10.2307/3544690

Cited by 168 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Osono and Takeda (2002) and Urairuj et al (2003) noted that Xylaria species were exceptional among microfungal leaf decomposers in having ligninolytic enzymes. On the other hand, Flanagan (1981), Kjøller and Struwe (1980, 1982, Wainwright (1988), Sin et al (2002) and Bucher et al (2004) found that most fungi were versatile in their carbon utilization, which is consistent with the hypothesis of Hooper et al (2000). Nevertheless, diversity of carbon substrates would still be expected to increase decomposer diversity given intermediate levels of substrate selectivity among the decomposers (Hooper et al, 2000).…”

Section: Article In Presssupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Fallen leaves from different plant species can differ greatly in their contents of lignin, cellulose, secondary plant compounds and other components; some may be inhibitory to fungal growth while each requires a diverse array of microbial enzymes for their degradation (Parkinson, 1981;Kjøller and Struwe, 1982;Heal and Dighton, 1986;Wainwright, 1988;Cromack and Caldwell, 1992;Cox et al, 2001). Such differences in leaf components may contribute to differences in microfungal species composition and frequencies (Bills and Polishook, 1994a;Polishook et al, 1996;Wong and Hyde, 2001;Zhou and Hyde, 2001) that have been documented among plant species and communities (Swift, 1976;Christiansen, 1981Christiansen, , 1989Cook and Rayner, 1984), including both temperate (Christensen, 1969) and tropical forests (Cowley, 1970;Cornejo et al, 1994;Polishook et al, 1996;Lodge, 1997).…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relationship of host recurrence in fungi to rates of tropical leaf decomposition

Santana

Lodge²,

Lebow

2005

Pedobiologia

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Section: Article In Presssupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship of host recurrence in fungi to rates of tropical leaf decomposition

Santana

Lodge²,

Lebow

2005

Pedobiologia

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“…Fungi are considered to be the key players in litter decomposition because of their ability to produce a wide range of extracellular enzymes, which allows them to efficiently attack the recalcitrant lignocellulose matrix that other organisms are unable to decompose (Kjoller and Struwe, 1982;de Boer et al, 2005). Biochemical decomposition of leaf litter is a sequential process that initially involves the loss of the less recalcitrant components (for example, oligosaccharides, organic acids, hemicellulose and cellulose) followed by the degradation of the remaining highly recalcitrant compounds (for example, lignin or suberin).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal community on decomposing leaf litter undergoes rapid successional changes

2012

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Fungi are considered the primary decomposers of dead plant biomass in terrestrial ecosystems. However, current knowledge regarding the successive changes in fungal communities during litter decomposition is limited. Here we explored the development of the fungal community over 24 months of litter decomposition in a temperate forest with dominant Quercus petraea using 454-pyrosequencing of the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and cellobiohydrolase I (cbhI) genes, which encode exocellulases, to specifically address cellulose decomposers. To quantify the involvement of phyllosphere fungi in litter decomposition, the fungal communities in live leaves and leaves immediately before abscission were also analysed. The results showed rapid succession of fungi with dramatic changes in the composition of the fungal community. Furthermore, most of the abundant taxa only temporarily dominated in the substrate. Fungal diversity was lowest at leaf senescence, increased until month 4 and did not significantly change during subsequent decomposition. Highly diverse community of phyllosphere fungi inhabits live oak leaves 2 months before abscission, and these phyllosphere taxa comprise a significant share of the fungal community during early decomposition up to the fourth month. Sequences assigned to the Ascomycota showed highest relative abundances in live leaves and during the early stages of decomposition. In contrast, the relative abundance of sequences assigned to the Basidiomycota phylum, particularly basidiomycetous yeasts, increased with time. Although cellulose was available in the litter during all stages of decomposition, the community of cellulolytic fungi changed substantially over time. The results indicate that litter decomposition is a highly complex process mediated by various fungal taxa.

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“…For example, litter is thought to be initially colonized by "sugar fungi" (sensu Garrett, 1963) which have neither cellulolytic or ligninolytic ability. These species are replaced over time by cellulolytic fungi, and finally the litter is colonized by ligninolytic fungi (12); however, the general validity of this scheme has been questioned (11,20,29,43). Moreover, testing this hypothesis has been difficult, because determining the function of fungal species typically requires isolating organisms and examining their effects on defined substrates in pure culture (7,15,(30)(31)(32), which has well-documented limitations (2).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation of Fungal Cellobiohydrolase I Genes from Sporocarps and Forest Soils by PCR

Edwards

Upchurch

Zak

2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Cellulose is the major component of plant biomass, and microbial cellulose utilization is a key step in the decomposition of plant detritus. Despite this, little is known about the diversity of cellulolytic microbial communities in soil. Fungi are well known for their cellulolytic activity and mediate key functions during the decomposition of plant detritus in terrestrial ecosystems. We developed new oligonucleotide primers for fungal exocellulase genes (cellobiohydrolase, cbhI) and used these to isolate distinct cbhI homologues from four species of litter-decomposing basidiomycete fungi (Clitocybe nuda, Clitocybe gibba, Clitopilus prunulus, and Chlorophyllum molybdites) and two species of ascomycete fungi (Xylaria polymorpha and Sarcoscypha occidentalis). Evidence for cbhI gene families was found in three of the four basidiomycete species. Additionally, we isolated and cloned cbhI genes from the forest floor and mineral soil of two upland forests in northern lower Michigan, one dominated by oak (Quercus velutina, Q. alba) and the other dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and American basswood (Tilia americana). Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that cellobiohydrolase genes recovered from the floor of both forests tended to cluster with Xylaria or in one of two unidentified groups, whereas cellobiohydrolase genes recovered from soil tended to cluster with Trichoderma, Alternaria, Eurotiales, and basidiomycete sequences. The ability to amplify a key fungal gene involved in plant litter decomposition has the potential to unlock the identity and dynamics of the cellulolytic fungal community in situ.The microbial decomposition of plant litter is a key ecosystem process that serves to release inorganic nutrients from plant detritus, as well as transform this material into soil organic matter (26, 37). Cellulose and lignin compose 60 to 75% of fresh plant litter (34, 37), and their degradation by heterotrophic soil microorganisms largely controls the rate of litter decay. Cellulose is a linear glucose polymer in which the subunits are linked through 1,4-␤-glycosidic bonds, and it represents an important potential source of energy for saprotrophic microorganisms. Cellulose in plant cell walls is bundled into crystalline fibrils, which are linked by hemicellulose to form larger, lignin-encrusted microfibrils (21, 34). Lignin, which is composed of polymerized phenol propane monomers (10), is highly resistant to microbial attack and hence restricts microbial access to the cellulose that it protects (8). Because a wide diversity of fungi have cellulolytic capability and because the complete breakdown of lignin can only be achieved by basidiomycete fungi and some xylariaceous ascomycete fungi (5, 8), saprotrophic fungi are considered the primary agents of plant litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems (41).Although fungi are key mediators of plant litter decay in terrestrial ecosystems, we have an incomplete knowledge of how the composition and function of fungal communities change during the process of litter ...

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Microfungi in Ecosystems: Fungal Occurrence and Activity in Litter and Soil

Cited by 168 publications

References 88 publications

Relationship of host recurrence in fungi to rates of tropical leaf decomposition

Relationship of host recurrence in fungi to rates of tropical leaf decomposition

Fungal community on decomposing leaf litter undergoes rapid successional changes

Isolation of Fungal Cellobiohydrolase I Genes from Sporocarps and Forest Soils by PCR

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