Saprotrophic cord systems: dispersal mechanisms in space and time

Boddy, Lynne; Hynes, Juliet; Bebber, Daniel P.; Fricker, Mark D.

doi:10.1007/s10267-008-0450-4

Cited by 91 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…In nutrient poor systems, colony spread is often more heterogeneous as fungi switch from an exploitative to an explorative mode (Boddy et al, 2009). In soil, we similarly expect this colony shape to be mediated by the heterogeneity of the pore volume with the advancing edge of a colony less clearly defined as the colony needs to negotiate a tortuous pathway of connected pores, resulting in a more gradual change in biomass density towards the growing edge of the colony.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling and quantifying the effect of heterogeneity in soil physical conditions on fungal growth

et al. 2010

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Abstract. Despite the importance of fungi in soil ecosystem services, a theoretical framework that links soil management strategies with fungal ecology is still lacking. One of the key challenges is to understand how the complex geometrical shape of pores in soil affects fungal spread and species interaction. Progress in this area has long been hampered by a lack of experimental techniques for quantification. In this paper we use X-ray computed tomography to quantify and characterize the pore geometry at microscopic scales (30 µm) that are relevant for fungal spread in soil. We analysed the pore geometry for replicated samples with bulk-densities ranging from 1.2-1.6 g/cm 3 . The bulk-density of soils significantly affected the total volume, mean pore diameter and connectivity of the pore volume. A previously described fungal growth model comprising a minimal set of physiological processes required to produce a range of phenotypic responses was used to analyse the effect of these geometric descriptors on fungal invasion, and we showed that the degree and rate of fungal invasion was affected mainly by pore volume and pore connectivity. The presented experimental and theoretical framework is a significant first step towards understanding how environmental change and soil management impact on fungal diversity in soils.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling and quantifying the effect of heterogeneity in soil physical conditions on fungal growth

et al. 2010

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“…The transport of nutrients in cords is much faster than in nondifferentiated mycelium (28), and the distances for nutrient translocation in fungal cords can be >1 m (22). After localization and identification of substrates in the soil, cord connections are strengthened to exploit the substrate while other parts of the mycelium regress (35,36), preferentially directing water to the substrate. Hence, as with nutrient translocation, hydraulic redistribution through fungal cords and especially rhizomorphs is probably more effective than through single hyphae.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redistribution of soil water by a saprotrophic fungus enhances carbon mineralization

Guhr

Borken

Spohn

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

124

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The desiccation of upper soil horizons is a common phenomenon, leading to a decrease in soil microbial activity and mineralization. Recent studies have shown that fungal communities and fungalbased food webs are less sensitive and better adapted to soil desiccation than bacterial-based food webs. One reason for a better fungal adaptation to soil desiccation may be hydraulic redistribution of water by mycelia networks. Here we show that a saprotrophic fungus (Agaricus bisporus) redistributes water from moist (-0.03 MPa) into dry (-9.5 MPa) soil at about 0.3 cm·min −1 in single hyphae, resulting in an increase in soil water potential after 72 h. The increase in soil moisture by hydraulic redistribution significantly enhanced carbon mineralization by 2,800% and enzymatic activity by 250-350% in the previously dry soil compartment within 168 h. Our results demonstrate that hydraulic redistribution can partly compensate water deficiency if water is available in other zones of the mycelia network. Hydraulic redistribution is likely one of the mechanisms behind higher drought resistance of soil fungi compared with bacteria. Moreover, hydraulic redistribution by saprotrophic fungi is an underrated pathway of water transport in soils and may lead to a transfer of water to zones of high fungal activity.

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“…The fluid flow in Physarum polycephalum has been measured to exhibit a Poiseuille profile [9]. This is expected since the typical length We compare now the full solution of the Taylor Dispersion and the Dispersion cloud method to evaluate the effective dispersion.…”

Section: From Taylor Dispersion To Effective Dispersionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vf, 87.16.Wd Transport due to fluid flowing through tubular networks is of great interest, because it has technological applications to biomimetic microfluidic devices [1][2][3], foams [4], fuel cells [5], and other filtration systems [6] and lies at the heart of extended organisms that rely on transport networks to function: animal vasculature [7,8], fungal mycelia [9], and plant tubes [10][11][12]. A big challenge regarding transport networks is to understand how network architecture changes the efficiency of particle spread throughout a network.…”

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Pruning to Increase Taylor Dispersion inPhysarum polycephalumNetworks

et al. 2016

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How do the topology and geometry of a tubular network affect the spread of particles within fluid flows? We investigate patterns of effective dispersion in the hierarchical, biological transport network formed by Physarum polycephalum. We demonstrate that a change in topology -pruning in the foraging state -causes a large increase in effective dispersion throughout the network. By comparison, changes in the hierarchy of tube radii result in smaller and more localized differences. Pruned networks capitalize on Taylor dispersion to increase the dispersion capability.PACS numbers: 87.18. Vf, 87.16.Wd Transport due to fluid flowing through tubular networks is of great interest, because it has technological applications to biomimetic microfluidic devices [1][2][3], foams [4], fuel cells [5], and other filtration systems [6] and lies at the heart of extended organisms that rely on transport networks to function: animal vasculature [7,8], fungal mycelia [9], and plant tubes [10][11][12]. A big challenge regarding transport networks is to understand how network architecture changes the efficiency of particle spread throughout a network. While it is experimentally tedious to map particle transport in a network, predicting the spread of particles is also a theoretical challenge [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Attempts to understand how the network topology and geometry affect the transport of particles are scarce [17]. Alternatively, we can study the dynamic changes of tubular network architecture in living beings. Organisms spontaneously reorganize their transport networks, including tube pruning [21][22][23][24]. Examples are vessel development in zebra fish brain development [21], or growth of a large foraging fungal body [22]. Here, we study the slime mold Physarum polycephalum which emerged as an inspiring and yet puzzling model for 'intelligent' living transport networks.P. polycephalum like foraging fungi, actively adapts its network to environmental cues [25][26][27][28][29]. Networks connecting multiple food sources are a good compromise between efficiency, reliability, and cost, comparable to human transport networks [29]. Fluid cytoplasm enclosed in the tubular network exhibits nonstationary shuttle flows [30][31][32] driven by a peristaltic wave of contractions spanning the entire organism [33]. Investigations of transport in these networks are so far limited to estimates based on the minimal distance between tubes [29,34,35]. We tracked a well-reticulated individual trimmed from a larger network (Fig. 1). After several hours, the thin central tubes were abandoned in favor of a few large central tubes and globular structures at the periphery. How does this radical change of topology affect the transport capabilities of the individual? What role do hierarchical tube radii play? We present a method to efficiently map the effective dispersion of particles from any initiation site throughout any network with nonstationary but periodic fluid flows. We use this method to study the change in dispersion patterns ...

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Saprotrophic cord systems: dispersal mechanisms in space and time

Cited by 91 publications

References 49 publications

Modelling and quantifying the effect of heterogeneity in soil physical conditions on fungal growth

Modelling and quantifying the effect of heterogeneity in soil physical conditions on fungal growth

Redistribution of soil water by a saprotrophic fungus enhances carbon mineralization

Pruning to Increase Taylor Dispersion inPhysarum polycephalumNetworks

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