Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots and soil respond differently to biotic and abiotic factors in the Serengeti

Stevens, Bo; Propster, Jeffrey; Öpik, Maarja; Wilson, Gail W. T.; Alloway, Sara Lynne; Mayemba, Emilian P.; Johnson, Nancy Collins

doi:10.1007/s00572-020-00931-5

Cited by 46 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…There is also evidence that the AMF communities differ between the host roots and the rhizosphere soil (Hempel et al, 2007;Li et al, 2018;Sepp et al, 2019). It has been suggested that the AMF community structure of these two mediums is driven by a number of different factors, with the AMF community composition colonizing the roots mainly determined by the host plant, while the AMF assemblage of the rhizosphere soil is more related to environmental conditions including soil properties (Li et al, 2018;Stevens et al, 2020). However, most studies have investigated AMF assemblages in either root (Vályi et al, 2015) or soil (van der Heyde et al, 2017a), and few have assessed both simultaneously.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing intensity rather than host plant’s palatability shape the community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a steppe grassland

Faghihinia

Zou

Bai³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are the predominant type of mycorrhizal fungi in roots and rhizosphere soil of grass species worldwide. Grasslands are currently experiencing increasing grazing pressure, but it is not yet clear how grazing intensity and host plant grazing preference by large herbivores interact with soil- and root-associated AMF communities. Here, we tested whether the diversity and community composition of AMF in the roots and rhizosphere soil of two dominant perennial grasses grazed differently by livestock change in response to grazing intensity. We conducted a study in a long-term field experiment in which seven levels of field-manipulated grazing intensities were maintained for 13 years in a typical steppe grassland in northern China. We extracted DNA from the roots and rhizosphere soil of two dominant grasses, Leymus chinense (Trin.) Tzvel. and Stipa grandis P. Smirn, with contrasting grazing preference by sheep. AMF DNA from root and soil samples were then subjected to molecular analysis. Our results showed that AMF α-diversity (richness) at the virtual taxa (VT) level varied as a function of grazing intensity. Different VTs showed completely different responses along the gradient, one increasing, one decreasing and others showing no response. Glomeraceae was the most abundant AMF family along the grazing gradient, which fits well with the theory of disturbance tolerance of this group. In addition, sheep grazing preference for host plants did not explain a considerable variation in AMF α-diversity. However, the two grass species exhibited different community composition in their roots and rhizosphere soils. Roots exhibited a lower α-diversity and higher β-diversity within the AMF community than soils. Overall, our results suggest that long-term grazing intensity might have changed the abundance of functionally-diverse AMF taxa in favor of those with disturbance-tolerant traits. We suggest our results would be useful in informing the choice of mycorrhizal fungi indicator variables when assessing the impacts of grassland management choices on grassland ecosystem functioning.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing intensity rather than host plant’s palatability shape the community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a steppe grassland

Faghihinia

Zou

Bai³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…A recent study found that AM fungal structures in roots and soil have different responses to biotic and abiotic factors. The AM fungal community structure in roots is mainly affected by host plants and disturbances (grazing), while AM fungi in soil are greatly affected by environmental factors [18]. AM fungi can form a huge mycorrhizal network and connect individual plants within the community, which facilitates the transport of nutrient resources among plants [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of mixed planting on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots and soils of Juglans mandshurica plantations

Yan

Yang

et al. 2020

BMC Microbiol

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Background Establishing mixed plantations is an effective way to improve soil fertility and increase forest productivity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are obligate symbiotic fungi that can promote mineral nutrient absorption and regulate intraspecific and interspecific competition in plants. However, the effects of mixed plantations on the community structure and abundance of AM fungi are still unclear. Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used to investigate the AM fungal community in the roots and soils of pure and mixed plantations (Juglans mandshurica × Larix gmelinii). The objective of this study is to compare the differential responses of the root and rhizosphere soil AM fungal communities of Juglans mandshurica to long-term mixed plantation management. Results Glomus and Paraglomus were the dominant genera in the root samples, accounting for more than 80% of the sequences. Compared with that in the pure plantation, the relative abundance of Glomus was higher in the mixed plantation. Glomus, Diversispora and Paraglomus accounted for more than 85% of the sequences in the soil samples. The relative abundances of Diversispora and an unidentified genus of Glomeromycetes were higher and lower in the pure plantation, respectively. The Root_P samples (the roots in the pure plantation) had the highest number of unique OTUs (operational taxonomic units), which belonged mainly to an unidentified genus of Glomeromycetes, Paraglomus, Glomus and Acaulospora. The number of unique OTUs detected in the soil was lower than that in the roots. In both the root and soil samples, the forest type did not have a significant effect on AM fungal diversity, but the Sobs value and the Shannon, Chao1 and Ace indices of AM fungi in the roots were significantly higher than those in the soil. Conclusions Mixed forest management had little effect on the AM fungal community of Juglans mandshurica roots and significantly changed the community composition of the soil AM fungi, but not the diversity.

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“…This could be linked to the drop in plant diversity, or the removal of inputs of dung and urine. Also, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can influence the community structure of soil bacteria (Artursson et al, 2006), and the abundance of these fungi has been shown to be higher inside the fences that exclude herbivores and also in the southern sites with fine textured soil and higher phosphorus content (Antoninka et al, 2015;Stevens et al, 2018Stevens et al, , 2020. Future research is needed to understand the mechanisms of the grazing effect and link the mammalian microbiome with the soil microbiome using a timeseries of sampling that coordinates with the grazing cycle in the Serengeti.…”

Section: Large Mammals Leave a Fingerprint On Microbial Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial community structure across grazing treatments and environmental gradients in the Serengeti

2020

Self Cite

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As one of the last remaining naturally grazed ecosystems on Earth, the Serengeti National Park is an ideal location to study the influence of migratory mammals on the structure of microbial communities and the factors that generate biogeography of soil microbes. Furthermore, volcanic inputs generate environmental gradients that may also structure microbial communities. We studied 16S rRNA amplicons in a 13-year herbivore removal experiment to examine the influence of grazing and environmental gradients on the natural distribution of soil microbes. Removal of mammalian herbivores shifted microbial community structure, with 31 taxa that were significant indicator taxa of the ungrazed treatment and three taxa that were indicators of the grazed treatment. The abundance of many taxa were correlated with soil texture, phosphorus, iron, calcium and rainfall, and the evenness of taxa within samples was also correlated with these variables. Bayesian general linear mixed effects models with single predictors of multiple, highly correlated variables of beta diversity were consistent with a significant, but weak (2%), effect of grazing, and stronger effects of phosphorus (14%). Beta diversity of microbial communities was greater in grazed than in ungrazed plots; suggesting that the impacts of grazing on community assembly of microbes results from deterministic environmental filtering caused by the influence of herbivores on plant communities and soil properties rather than stochastic dispersal via herds of large mammals. These herbivore effects are superimposed on deterministic environmental filtering by natural soil and precipitation gradients across the Serengeti.

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots and soil respond differently to biotic and abiotic factors in the Serengeti

Cited by 46 publications

References 84 publications

Grazing intensity rather than host plant’s palatability shape the community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a steppe grassland

Grazing intensity rather than host plant’s palatability shape the community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a steppe grassland

Long-term effects of mixed planting on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots and soils of Juglans mandshurica plantations

Microbial community structure across grazing treatments and environmental gradients in the Serengeti

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