There is no consensus barcoding region for determination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) taxa. To overcome this obstacle, we have developed an approach to sequence AMF marker within the ribosome-encoding operon (rDNA) that covers all three widely applied variable molecular markers. Using a nested PCR specific AMF, amplified part (c. 2.5 kb) rDNA spanning majority small subunit rRNA (SSU)...

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is widely cultivated to reduce nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs for the subsequent crop and can improve soil availability yields, referred as “rotation effect.” The mechanisms behind these effects may be due changes associated with rhizosphere microbial community of alfalfa. We hypothesized that a compositionally functionally distinct would colonize tomato plants grow...

Creating sustainable bioeconomies for the 21st century relies on optimizing the use of biological resources to improve agricultural productivity and create new products. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (phylum Glomeromycota) form symbiotic relationships with over 80% of vascular plants. In return for carbon, these fungi improve plant health and tolerance to environmental stress. This symbiosis is over 4...

Aims Ericaceous plant species can host diverse fungi in their roots, including ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ERMF), endophytes, pathogens and some species with unknown functions. However, how this diversity of fungi responds to different human disturbances is not well understood. Methods In this study, we examined the effects of different human disturbance on fungal diversity in hair roots of Vacc...

Phosphate fertilization is a common practice in agriculture worldwide, and several commercial products are widely used. Triple superphosphate (TSP) is an excellent soluble phosphorus (P) source. However, its high cost of production makes the long-term use of crude rock phosphate (RP) a more attractive alternative in developing countries, albeit its influence on plant-associated microbiota remai...

1 Soil science and ecology have developed independently, making it difficult for ecologists to contribute to urgent current debates on the destruction of the global soil resource and its key role in the global carbon cycle. Soils are believed to be exceptionally biodiverse parts of ecosystems, a view confirmed by recent data from the UK Soil Biodiversity Programme at Sourhope, Scotland, where h...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs (Glomeromycota), which live symbiotically in the roots of most land plants and facilitate mineral nutrition of their hosts. Their spores are able to germinate in the absence of host-derived signals, but are unable to complete the life cycle without establishing a functional symbiosis with a host plant. Such behaviour did not represent a ...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent a monophyletic fungal lineage (Glomeromycota) that benefits terrestrial ecosystems worldwide by establishing an intimate association with the roots of most land plants: the mycorrhizal symbiosis. This relationship results in an improved acquisition of nutrients (e.g., phosphate and nitrates) from the soil by the plant partners and, in exchange, allow...