Selective consumption of decomposing wheat straw by earthworms

Moody, Sandra A.; Briones, Maria J.I.; Piearce, Trevor G.; Dighton, John

doi:10.1016/0038-0717(95)00024-9

Cited by 99 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In contrast with Moody et al (1995), under our experimental conditions no differences in earthworm preference were observed among Ascomycetes, apart from A. caliginosa that, at the highest concentration, exclusively preferred F. reticulatum.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 93%

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Potential spread of forest soil-borne fungi through earthworm consumption and casting

Montecchio¹,

Scattolin²,

Squartini³

et al. 2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionSince the late 1940s, there has been a growing interest in soil mycology and soilborne fungal diseases of plants, motivating studies on soil fungi and their ecology (Subramanian 1982, 1986, Carroll & Wicklow 1992. Such fungi are involved in many plant-soil relationships, including water and nutrient uptake and cycling, plant disease expression or suppression. From a functional standpoint, such fungi can be grouped according to energy derivation: (i) decomposers (saprotrophic), utilizing dead organic material, sometimes acting antagonistically with others; (ii) mutualists (mycorrhizal), colonizing plant roots, supplying soil nutrients and protection against root parasites in exchange for sugars and possibly other components; (iii) parasites, reducing the growth of plant structures or causing diseases by acting as pathogens.Relationships among soil-borne fungal species involved in forest plant fitness are complex, in that expansion and spread of one population versus another linked and associated with other variables (e.g., plant susceptibility, soil pH, temperature, humidity) may lead to changes in plant health. In line with well-known biocontrol strategies (Butt et al. 2001), a parasitic species can seldom express its full pathogenicity against a plant when sufficient mutualistic and/or antagonistic species are present outside of, or within, the rhizosphere (Tousson et al. 1970, Laflamme 2010. The rhizosphere represents a peculiar ecological niche: a common physiological stress on a healthy plant (e.g., an unusual drought period) can easily be reflected in different root exudates, such as sugars and other components, which are important signals of the plant vigor to rhizosphere inhabitants. In this way, a multifaceted dynamic of microbiological interactions, which may awaken their resting stages or chemotactically attract their mobile propagating organs, could lead to establishment of root diseases (e.g., by Phytophthora, Armillaria, Fusarium, Nectria, Verticillium species), the most dangerous in forestry (Manion 1981). In an established forest soil, decomposer fungi (sometimes with an antagonistic behavior against other microorganisms, including parasites, such as Trichoderma) are commonly present both within and outside of the rhizosphere. By contrast, mutualistic fungi, usually in the rhizosphere (e.g., Laccaria, Pisolithus, Suillus, Xerocomus), can produce toxic metabolites, inhibiting infection by parasitic fungi or physically masking root tips (Smith & Read 2008). Therefore, the higher is fungal abundance, dispersal rate and positive synergistic effects useful to plants (by decomposers and mutualists), the lower the probability of root disease is likely to be.Soil fungi represent a large biomass in the soil (Ingham et al. 1989), providing a rich and abundant resource for fungivorous soil invertebrates (Hågvar & Kjøndal 1981, Takeda & Ichimura 1983, Visser 1985. Among the latter, earthworms have an active role in soil ecology, altering soil structure, water...

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 93%

“…The destiny of ingested microorganisms depends on their adaptation to the intestinal conditions of the earthworm (Dash et al 1986, Moody et al 1995, Buck et al 2000. Two opposing processes act during digestion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential spread of forest soil-borne fungi through earthworm consumption and casting

Montecchio¹,

Scattolin²,

Squartini³

et al. 2015

iForest

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“…Many studies have reported that earthworms reduce microbial biomass, which leads to the hypothesis that earthworms consume microorganisms as a main part of their diet (Brown, 1995;Chapuis-Lardy et al, 2010). Some earthworms even display their preferences for fungal species feeding on labile carbon, compared with fungal species decomposing recalcitrant organic matter such as lignin (Moody et al, 1995;Bonkowski et al, 2000). It is thought that fungal hyphae are disrupted during the gut passage (Butenschoen et al, 2007).…”

Section: How Do Earthworm Impact Biomass Decomposers?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Endogeic earthworms shape bacterial functional communities and affect organic matter mineralization in a tropical soil

et al. 2011

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Priming effect (PE) is defined as a stimulation of the mineralization of soil organic matter (SOM) following a supply of fresh organic matter. This process can have important consequences on the fate of SOM and on the management of residues in agricultural soils, especially in tropical regions where soil fertility is essentially based on the management of organic matter. Earthworms are ecosystem engineers known to affect the dynamics of SOM. Endogeic earthworms ingest large amounts of soil and assimilate a part of organic matter it contains. During gut transit, microorganisms are transported to new substrates and their activity is stimulated by (i) the production of readily assimilable organic matter (mucus) and (ii) the possible presence of fresh organic residues in the ingested soil. The objective of our study was to see (i) whether earthworms impact the PE intensity when a fresh residue is added to a tropical soil and (ii) whether this impact is linked to a stimulation/inhibition of bacterial taxa, and which taxa are affected. A tropical soil from Madagascar was incubated in the laboratory, with a 13 C wheat straw residue, in the presence or absence of a peregrine endogeic tropical earthworm, Pontoscolex corethrurus. Emissions of 12 CO 2 and 13 CO 2 were followed during 16 days. The coupling between DNA-SIP (stable isotope probing) and pyrosequencing showed that stimulation of both the mineralization of wheat residues and the PE can be linked to the stimulation of several groups especially belonging to the Bacteroidetes phylum. The ISME Journal (2012) 6, 213-222; doi:10.1038/ismej.2011; published online 14 July 2011 Subject Category: microbial ecology and functional diversity of natural habitats

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“…De hecho, en las capas jóvenes tanto la biomasa como la actividad microbiana mostraron valores hasta 4 veces mayores que las capas correspondientes en los vermireactores sin lombrices (Aira et al 2006(Aira et al , 2007a. Estos resultados contradicen el hecho generalmente aceptado de que los microorganismos forman parte de la dieta de las lombrices de tierra (Edwards 2004), especialmente los hongos (Dash et al 1986), que las lombrices de tierra pueden ingerir selectivamente y digerir (Moody et al 1995, Schönholzer et al 1999) ya que encontramos que el ergosterol (biomarcador de hongos) también aumentó su concentración en las capas jóvenes, incremento que estuvo asociado a una mejor descomposición de la celulosa (Aira et al 2006). Nuestros datos sugieren que durante los primeros estadios del vermicompostaje las lombrices y los microorganismos establecen una relación cercana al mutualismo (Brown et al 2000), aunque en este caso ocurriría fuera del intestino.…”

Section: Purín De Cerdo Deyeccionesunclassified

“…Sin embargo, las deyecciones también estuvieron caracterizadas por un incremento del potencial enzimático que podría conllevar una mejor degradación del purín de cerdo. El aumento de la biomasa microbiana contradice de nuevo el hecho de que los microbios forman parte de la dieta de las lombrices de tierra (Edwards 2004, Moody et al 1995.…”

Section: Purín De Cerdo Deyeccionesunclassified

Las lombrices de tierra y los microorganismos: desentrañando la caja negra del vermicompostaje

Aira¹,

Domínguez

2010

AZM

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Aira, M. & J. Domínguez. 2010. Las lombrices de tierra y los microorganismos: desentrañando la caja negra del vermicompostaje. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.), Número Especial 2: 385-395. RESUMEN. Los efectos de las lombrices sobre los microorganismos son directos (incremento o descenso de sus poblaciones al digerir el sustrato) e indirectos (efectos derivados de los directos, como la aparición de las deyecciones en el sustrato fresco). Para delimitar y poder estudiar estos efectos por separado realizamos tres experimentos. En el primero estudiamos el proceso de vermicompostaje con Eisenia fetida de purín de cerdo en todas sus etapas, desde el residuo fresco hasta obtener el vermicompost. En el segundo inoculamos vermicompost en purín de cerdo fresco para estudiar los efectos indirectos de las lombrices de tierra en la degradación del purín. En el tercero analizamos las deyecciones frescas para estudiar los efectos directos de las lombrices de tierra en los microorganismos. Las lombrices de tierra dividieron el proceso de vermicompostaje en dos etapas, una inicial, asociada a su presencia en el residuo, caracterizada por el aumento de la biomasa y actividad de los microorganismos; y la etapa final, asociada a la ausencia de las lombrices de tierra, caracterizada por la disminución de la biomasa y actividad microbiana. El inóculo de vermicompost en purín de cerdo produjo el mismo efecto (aumento inicial y posterior descenso) aunque de menor entidad, probando la existencia de efectos indirectos de las lombrices de tierra en el vermicompostaje. En las deyecciones de las lombrices aumentó la biomasa microbiana y la actividad disminuyó, lo que sugiere la existencia de factores implicados en las relaciones lombrices-microorganismos más allá de la simple digestión y los procesos asociados a la inoculación de las deyecciones en el sustrato. Palabras clave: Eisenia fetida, purín de cerdo, biomasa microbiana, actividad microbiana, actividad enzimática. Aira, M. & J. Domínguez. 2010. Earthworms and microorganisms: disentangling the black box of vermicomposting. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.), Número Especial 2: 385-395. ABSTRACT. Earthworms affect microorganisms both directly (enhancing or reducing their populations by digesting the substrate) and indirectly (derived effects, such as the production of castings in the fresh substrate). To separate these effects we performed three experiments. In the first, we studied the whole process of vermicomposting, using Eisenia fetida and pig manure in all stage, from fresh residue to vermicompost. In the second experiment, we inoculated pig manure with vermicompost to study the indirect effects of earthworms on decomposition. In the third, we analysed the fresh casts to study direct

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Selective consumption of decomposing wheat straw by earthworms

Cited by 99 publications

References 22 publications

Potential spread of forest soil-borne fungi through earthworm consumption and casting

Potential spread of forest soil-borne fungi through earthworm consumption and casting

Endogeic earthworms shape bacterial functional communities and affect organic matter mineralization in a tropical soil

Las lombrices de tierra y los microorganismos: desentrañando la caja negra del vermicompostaje

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