Land-use intensity and host plant simultaneously shape the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a Mediterranean drained peatland.

Land-use change is known to be a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services in Mediterranean areas. However, the potential for different host plants to modulate the effect of land-use intensification on community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is still poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that low land-use intensity promotes AMF diversity at different taxonomic scales and to determine whether any response is dependent upon host plant species identity, we characterised AMF communities in the roots of 10 plant species across four land use types of differing intensity in a Mediterranean peatland system. AMF were identified using 454 pyrosequencing. This revealed an overall low level of AMF richness in the peaty soils; lowest AMF richness in the intense cropping system at both virtual taxa and family level; strong modulation by the host plant of the impact of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the virtual taxa level; and a significant effect of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the family level. These findings have implications for understanding ecosystem stability and productivity and should be considered when developing soil-improvement strategies in fragile ecosystems, such as Mediterranean peatlands.

Ciccolini V ，Ercoli L ，Davison J ，Vasar M ，Öpik M ，Pellegrino E ... -  《-》

Soil Characteristics Driving Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Semiarid Mediterranean Soils.

We investigated communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the roots and the rhizosphere soil of Brachypodium retusum in six different natural soils under field conditions. We explored phylogenetic patterns of AMF composition using indicator species analyses to find AMF associated with a given habitat (root versus rhizosphere) or soil type. We tested whether the AMF characteristics of different habitats or contrasting soils were more closely related than expected by chance. Then we used principal-component analysis and multivariate analysis of variance to test for the relative contribution of each factor in explaining the variation in fungal community composition. Finally, we used redundancy analysis to identify the soil properties that significantly explained the differences in AMF communities across soil types. The results pointed out a tendency of AMF communities in roots to be closely related and different from those in the rhizosphere soil. The indicator species analyses revealed AMF associated with rhizosphere soil and the root habitat. Soil type also determined the distribution of AMF communities in soils, and this effect could not be attributed to a single soil characteristic, as at least three soil properties related to microbial activity, i.e., pH and levels of two micronutrients (Mn and Zn), played significant roles in triggering AMF populations. Communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are main components of soil biota that can determine the productivity of ecosystems. These fungal assemblages vary across host plants and ecosystems, but the main ecological processes that shape the structures of these communities are still largely unknown. A field study in six different soil types from semiarid areas revealed that AMF communities are significantly influenced by habitat (soil versus roots) and soil type. In addition, three soil properties related to microbiological activity (i.e., pH and manganese and zinc levels) were the main factors triggering the distribution of AMF. These results contribute to a better understanding of the ecological factors that can shape AMF communities, an important soil microbial group that affects multiple ecosystem functions.

Alguacil MDM ，Torres MP ，Montesinos-Navarro A ，Roldán A ... -  《-》

Differences in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community Composition in Soils of Three Land Use Types in Subtropical Hilly Area of Southern China.

Wang C ，Gu Z ，Cui H ，Zhu H ，Fu S ，Yao Q ... -  《PLoS One》

Disclosing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biodiversity in soil through a land-use gradient using a pyrosequencing approach.

The biodiversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities present in five Sardinian soils (Italy) subjected to different land-use (tilled vineyard, covered vineyard, pasture, managed meadow and cork-oak formation) was analysed using a pyrosequencing-based approach for the first time. Two regions of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene were considered as molecular target. The pyrosequencing produced a total of 10924 sequences: 6799 from the first and 4125 from the second target region. Among these sequences, 3189 and 1003 were selected to generate operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and to evaluate the AMF community richness and similarity: 117 (37 of which were singletons) and 28 (nine of which were singletons) unique AMF OTUs were detected respectively. Within the Glomeromycota OTUs, those belonging to the Glomerales order were dominant in all the soils. Diversisporales OTUs were always detected, even though less frequently, while Archaeosporales and Paraglomerales OTUs were exclusive of the pasture soil. Eleven OTUs were shared by all the soils, but each of the five AMF communities showed particular features, suggesting a meaningful dissimilarity among the Glomeromycota populations. The environments with low inputs (pasture and covered vineyard) showed a higher AMF biodiversity than those subjected to human input (managed meadow and tilled vineyard). A reduction in AMF was found in the cork-oak formation because other mycorrhizal fungal species, more likely associated to trees and shrubs, were detected. These findings reinforce the view that AMF biodiversity is influenced by both human input and ecological traits, illustrating a gradient of AMF communities which mirror the land-use gradient. The high number of sequences obtained by the pyrosequencing strategy has provided detailed information on the soil AMF assemblages, thus offering a source of light to shine on this crucial soil microbial group.

Lumini E ，Orgiazzi A ，Borriello R ，Bonfante P ，Bianciotto V ... -  《-》

Spatial and temporal structuring of arbuscular mycorrhizal communities is differentially influenced by abiotic factors and host crop in a semi-arid prairie agroecosystem.

Agroecosystems are dynamic systems that experience frequent chemical inputs and changes in plant cover. The objective of this study was to test whether abiotic (soil chemical properties and climate) and biotic (plant host identity) factors influence the spatial and temporal structuring of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities in a semi-arid prairie agroecosystem. 454 GS FLX+ high-throughput sequencing technology was successfully utilized to characterize the AMF communities based on long reads (mean length: 751.7 bp) and generated high-resolution data with excellent taxonomic coverage. The composition of the AMF community colonizing roots of the three crops (pea, lentil, and wheat) significantly differed, but plant host identity had a minimal effect on the composition of the AMF community in the soil. We observed a temporal shift in the composition of AMF communities in the roots and surrounding soil of the crops during the growing season. This temporal shift was particularly evident in the root-associated AMF community and was correlated with soil phosphate flux and climatic variables. In contrast, the spatial structuring of the AMF community in the site was correlated with soil pH and electrical conductivity. Individual AMF taxa were significantly correlated with pH, electrical conductivity, and phosphate flux, and these relationships were phylogenetically conserved at the genus level within the Glomeromycota.

Bainard LD ，Bainard JD ，Hamel C ，Gan Y ... -  《-》