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Allen MF, Shulman H, Rundel PW, Harmon TC, Aronson EL. Leaf-cutter ants - mycorrhizal fungi: observations and research questions from an unexpected mutualism. FRONTIERS IN FUNGAL BIOLOGY 2023; 4:1241916. [PMID: 38033376 PMCID: PMC10687443 DOI: 10.3389/ffunb.2023.1241916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Leaf-cutter ants (LCAs) are widely distributed and alter the physical and biotic architecture above and below ground. In neotropical rainforests, they create aboveground and belowground disturbance gaps that facilitate oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. Within the hyperdiverse neotropical rainforests, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi occupy nearly all of the forest floor. Nearly every cubic centimeter of soil contains a network of hyphae of Glomeromycotina, fungi that form arbuscular mycorrhizae. Our broad question is as follows: how can alternative mycorrhizae, which are-especially ectomycorrhizae-essential for the survival of some plant species, become established? Specifically, is there an ant-mycorrhizal fungus interaction that facilitates their establishment in these hyperdiverse ecosystems? In one lowland Costa Rican rainforest, nests of the LCA Atta cephalotes cover approximately 1.2% of the land surface that is broadly scattered throughout the forest. On sequencing the DNA from soil organisms, we found the inocula of many AM fungi in their nests, but the nests also contained the inocula of ectomycorrhizal, orchid mycorrhizal, and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi, including Scleroderma sinnamariense, a fungus critical to Gnetum leyboldii, an obligate ectomycorrhizal plant. When the nests were abandoned, new root growth into the nest offered opportunities for new mycorrhizal associations to develop. Thus, the patches created by LCAs appear to be crucial sites for the establishment and survival of shifting mycorrhizal plant-fungal associations, in turn facilitating the high diversity of these communities. A better understanding of the interactions of organisms, including cross-kingdom and ant-mycorrhizal fungal interactions, would improve our understanding of how these ecosystems might tolerate environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael F. Allen
- Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Hannah Shulman
- Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Philip W. Rundel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Thomas C. Harmon
- School of Engineering and Environmental Systems Program, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, United States
| | - Emma L. Aronson
- Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
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Mawan A, Hartke TR, Deharveng L, Zhang F, Buchori D, Scheu S, Drescher J. Response of arboreal Collembola communities to the conversion of lowland rainforest into rubber and oil palm plantations. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:144. [DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02095-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
In the last decades, Southeast Asia has experienced massive conversion of rainforest into rubber and oil palm monoculture plantations. The effects of this land-use change on canopy arthropods are still largely unknown. Arboreal Collembola are among the most abundant canopy arthropods in tropical forests, potentially forming a major component of the canopy food web by contributing to the decomposition of arboreal litter and being an important prey for canopy arthropod predators. We investigated abundance, richness, and community composition of, as well as the influence of a series of environmental factors on, canopy Collembola communities in four land-use systems in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia: (1) lowland rainforest, (2) jungle rubber (rubber agroforest), and monoculture plantations of (3) rubber and (4) oil palm.
Results
Using canopy fogging in 32 research plots in both the dry and rainy seasons in 2013, we collected 77,104 specimens belonging to 68 (morpho) species. Generally, Collembola communities were dominated by few species including two species of the genus Salina (Paronellidae; 34% of total individuals) and two species of Lepidocyrtinae (Entomobryidae; 20%). The abundance of Collembola in lowland rainforest (53.4 ± 30.7 ind. m−2) was more than five times higher than in rubber plantations, and more than ten times higher than in oil palm plantations; abundances in jungle rubber were intermediate. Collembola species richness was highest in rainforest (18.06 ± 3.60 species) and jungle rubber (16.88 ± 2.33 species), more than twice that in rubber or oil palm. Collembola community composition was similar in rainforest and jungle rubber, but different from monoculture plantations which had similar Collembola community composition to each other. The environmental factors governing community composition differed between the land-use systems and varied between seasons.
Conclusions
Overall, this is the first in-depth report on the structure of arboreal Collembola communities in lowland rainforest and agricultural replacement systems in Southeast Asia. The results highlight the potentially major consequences of land-use change for the functioning of arboreal arthropod food webs.
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Multiomics Molecular Research into the Recalcitrant and Orphan Quercus ilex Tree Species: Why, What for, and How. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23179980. [PMID: 36077370 PMCID: PMC9456323 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23179980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) is the dominant tree species of the Mediterranean forest and the Spanish agrosilvopastoral ecosystem, “dehesa.” It has been, since the prehistoric period, an important part of the Iberian population from a social, cultural, and religious point of view, providing an ample variety of goods and services, and forming the basis of the economy in rural areas. Currently, there is renewed interest in its use for dietary diversification and sustainable food production. It is part of cultural richness, both economically (tangible) and environmentally (intangible), and must be preserved for future generations. However, a worrisome degradation of the species and associated ecosystems is occurring, observed in an increase in tree decline and mortality, which requires urgent action. Breeding programs based on the selection of elite genotypes by molecular markers is the only plausible biotechnological approach. To this end, the authors’ group started, in 2004, a research line aimed at characterizing the molecular biology of Q. ilex. It has been a challenging task due to its biological characteristics (long life cycle, allogamous, high phenotypic variability) and recalcitrant nature. The biology of this species has been characterized following the central dogma of molecular biology using the omics cascade. Molecular responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as seed maturation and germination, are the two main objectives of our research. The contributions of the group to the knowledge of the species at the level of DNA-based markers, genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are discussed here. Moreover, data are compared with those reported for Quercus spp. All omics data generated, and the genome of Q. ilex available, will be integrated with morphological and physiological data in the systems biology direction. Thus, we will propose possible molecular markers related to resilient and productive genotypes to be used in reforestation programs. In addition, possible markers related to the nutritional value of acorn and derivate products, as well as bioactive compounds (peptides and phenolics) and allergens, will be suggested. Subsequently, the selected molecular markers will be validated by both genome-wide association and functional genomic analyses.
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Gergócs V, Flórián N, Tóth Z, Sipőcz L, Dombos M. Detangling ecosystem services: Open-field manipulation of soil-dwelling microarthropods provides new opportunities to investigate their effects on nitrogen cycling. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9134. [PMID: 35873073 PMCID: PMC9297029 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil microarthropods have a pivotal role in soil nitrogen cycling in that they affect microbial decomposers. A high abundance of microarthropods may increase the mobility of inorganic nitrogen ions in the soil, mainly in nitrogen-limited habitats. However, it is difficult to study ecological processes with small-sized, soil-dwelling arthropods. The effects of soil microarthropods on nitrogen cycling have mainly been studied in laboratory microcosm experiments. Therefore, we face many practical issues in investigating these effects under field conditions that remain to be resolved.We developed an open-field mesocosm setup with growing plants. In a two-part experiment, spring wheat and grass species were grown in chernozem and sandy soils. Leached ammonium and nitrate ions were measured with percolation lysimeters. Half of the mesocosms included natural assemblages, and the other half included less abundant Acari and Collembola assemblages. The application of nitrogen fertilization assured differences in nitrogen sources.We found a large difference in ammonium and nitrate leaching between the two soil types. In chernozem soil, the leached ion concentrations were higher in mesocosms with more abundant mite and springtail assemblages. The expected patterns were less pronounced in sandy soil. Adding nitrogen fertilizer did not modify the effects of soil microarthropods.Open-field mesocosms are promising for studying the role of soil-dwelling mesofauna in ecological processes. We solved the problem of keeping mesofauna abundance lower in treated plots than that in control plots. Plants successfully grew in our semi-closed systems with functioning percolation lysimeters. The use of the equipment in the experiments in this study helped reveal that the role of soil-dwelling microarthropods in nitrogen cycling depends on the soil type and not on the application of nitrogen fertilizer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Gergócs
- Institute for Soil Sciences Centre for Agricultural Research Budapest Hungary
| | - Norbert Flórián
- Institute for Soil Sciences Centre for Agricultural Research Budapest Hungary
| | - Zsolt Tóth
- Institute for Soil Sciences Centre for Agricultural Research Budapest Hungary
| | - László Sipőcz
- Institute for Soil Sciences Centre for Agricultural Research Budapest Hungary
| | - Miklós Dombos
- Institute for Soil Sciences Centre for Agricultural Research Budapest Hungary
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Pu L, Li Z, Jia M, Ke X, Liu H, Christie P, Wu L. Effects of a soil collembolan on the growth and metal uptake of a hyperaccumulator: Modification of root morphology and the expression of plant defense genes. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 303:119169. [PMID: 35307496 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Soil collembolans live in close proximity to plant roots and may have a role in the phytoextraction of potentially toxic metals from contaminated soils but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly investigated. We hypothesize that soil collembolans may change the root morphology of hyperaccumulators by regulating plant physiological characteristics. Here, a pot experiment was conducted in which a cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulator (Sedum plumbizincicola) was grown with or without a collembolan (Folsomia candida), and plant transcriptome and hormones as well as the root characteristics of S. plumbizincicola were analyzed. F. candida promoted the growth and Cd/Zn uptake of S. plumbizincicola, the root and shoot biomass increasing by 53.3 and 34.4%, and the uptake of Cd and Zn in roots increased by 83.2 and 65.4%, respectively. Plant root morphology, total root length, root tip number and lateral root number increased significantly by 40.7, 37.2 and 33.8%, respectively, with the addition of F. candida. Transcriptome analysis reveals that the expression levels of defense-related genes in S. plumbizincicola were significantly up-regulated. In addition, the defensive plant hormones, i.e. salicylic acid in the roots, increased significantly by 338%. These results suggest that the plant in defense of the action of F. candida regulated the expression of the corresponding genes and increased the defensive plant hormones, thus modifying root morphology and plant performance. Overall, this study highlights the importance of the regulation by collembolans of plant growth and metal uptake by interaction with hyperaccumulator roots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liming Pu
- College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China; Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Zhu Li
- Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China.
| | - Mingyun Jia
- Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Xin Ke
- Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hongyan Liu
- College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
| | - Peter Christie
- Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Longhua Wu
- Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
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Tarkka MT, Grams TEE, Angay O, Kurth F, Maboreke HR, Mailänder S, Bönn M, Feldhahn L, Fleischmann F, Ruess L, Schädler M, Scheu S, Schrey SD, Buscot F, Herrmann S. Ectomycorrhizal fungus supports endogenous rhythmic growth and corresponding resource allocation in oak during various below- and aboveground biotic interactions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23680. [PMID: 34880358 PMCID: PMC8654951 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03132-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Endogenous rhythmic growth (ERG) is displayed by many tropical and some major temperate tree species and characterized by alternating root and shoot flushes (RF and SF). These flushes occur parallel to changes in biomass partitioning and in allocation of recently assimilated carbon and nitrogen. To address how biotic interactions interplay with ERG, we cross-compared the RF/SF shifts in oak microcuttings in the presence of pathogens, consumers and a mycorrhiza helper bacterium, without and with an ectomycorrhizal fungus (EMF), and present a synthesis of the observations. The typical increase in carbon allocation to sink leaves during SF did not occur in the presence of root or leaf pathogens, and the increase in nitrogen allocation to lateral roots during RF did not occur with the pathogens. The RF/SF shifts in resource allocation were mostly restored upon additional interaction with the EMF. Its presence led to increased resource allocation to principal roots during RF, also when the oaks were inoculated additionally with other interactors. The interactors affected the alternating, rhythmic growth and resource allocation shifts between shoots and roots. The restoring role of the EMF on RF/SF changes in parallel to the corresponding enhanced carbon and nitrogen allocation to sink tissues suggests that the EMF is supporting plants in maintaining the ERG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mika T. Tarkka
- grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany ,grid.421064.50000 0004 7470 3956German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thorsten E. E. Grams
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Science, Plant Ecophysiology, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz Platz 2, Freising, Germany
| | - Oguzhan Angay
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Science, Plant Ecophysiology, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz Platz 2, Freising, Germany
| | - Florence Kurth
- grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Hazel R. Maboreke
- grid.7468.d0000 0001 2248 7639Institute of Biology, Ecology Group, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sarah Mailänder
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), Auf der Morgenstelle 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Bönn
- grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany ,Landesamt Für Verbraucherschutz Sachsen-Anhalt, Freiimfelder Str. 68, 06112 Halle, Germany
| | - Lasse Feldhahn
- grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany ,grid.9018.00000 0001 0679 2801Institut Für Informatik, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Frank Fleischmann
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Science, Plant Ecophysiology, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz Platz 2, Freising, Germany ,grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XLudwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Chair of Experimental Physics – Laser physics, Am Coulombwall 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Liliane Ruess
- grid.7468.d0000 0001 2248 7639Institute of Biology, Ecology Group, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Schädler
- grid.421064.50000 0004 7470 3956German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany ,grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06110 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Stefan Scheu
- grid.7450.60000 0001 2364 4210Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany ,grid.7450.60000 0001 2364 4210J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Silvia D. Schrey
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), Auf der Morgenstelle 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany ,grid.8385.60000 0001 2297 375XInstitute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-2: Plant Sciences, Leo- Brandt-Straße, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Francois Buscot
- grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany ,grid.421064.50000 0004 7470 3956German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sylvie Herrmann
- grid.7492.80000 0004 0492 3830Department of Soil Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany ,grid.421064.50000 0004 7470 3956German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Selvaraj A, Thangavel K, Uthandi S. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus intraradices) and diazotrophic bacterium (Rhizobium BMBS) primed defense in blackgram against herbivorous insect (Spodoptera litura) infestation. Microbiol Res 2020; 231:126355. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2019.126355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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