Lower relative abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi under a warmer and drier climate is linked to enhanced soil organic matter decomposition.

The aboveground impacts of climate change receive extensive research attention, but climate change could also alter belowground processes such as the delicate balance between free-living fungal decomposers and nutrient-scavenging mycorrhizal fungi that can inhibit decomposition through a mechanism called the Gadgil effect. We investigated how climate change-induced reductions in plant survival, photosynthesis and productivity alter soil fungal community composition in a mixed arbuscular/ectomycorrhizal (AM/EM) semiarid shrubland exposed to experimental warming (W) and/or rainfall reduction (RR). We hypothesised that increased EM host plant mortality under a warmer and drier climate might decrease ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) abundance, thereby favouring the proliferation and activity of fungal saprotrophs. The relative abundance of EMF sequences decreased by 57.5% under W+RR, which was accompanied by reductions in the activity of hydrolytic enzymes involved in the acquisition of organic-bound nutrients by EMF and their host plants. W+RR thereby created an enhanced potential for soil organic matter (SOM) breakdown and nitrogen mineralisation by decomposers, as revealed by 127-190% increases in dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, respectively, and decreasing SOM content in soil. Climate aridification impacts on vegetation can cascade belowground through shifts in fungal guild structure that alter ecosystem biogeochemistry and accelerate SOM decomposition by reducing the Gadgil effect.

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Phytohormone profiles induced by trichoderma isolates correspond with their biocontrol and plant growth-promoting activity on melon plants.

The application of Trichoderma strains with biocontrol and plant growth-promoting capacities to plant substrates can help reduce the input of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture. Some Trichoderma isolates can directly affect plant pathogens, but they also are known to influence the phytohormonal network of their host plant, thus leading to an improvement of plant growth and stress tolerance. In this study, we tested whether alterations in the phytohormone signature induced by different Trichoderma isolates correspond with their ability for biocontrol and growth promotion. Four Trichoderma isolates were collected from agricultural soils and were identified as the species Trichoderma harzianum (two isolates), Trichoderma ghanense, and Trichoderma hamatum. Their antagonistic activity against the plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis was tested in vitro, and their plant growth-promoting and biocontrol activity against Fusarium wilt on melon plants was examined in vivo, and compared to that of the commercial strain T. harzianum T-22. Several growth- and defense-related phytohormones were analyzed in the shoots of plants that were root-colonized by the different Trichoderma isolates. An increase in auxin and a decrease in cytokinins and abscisic acid content were induced by the isolates that promoted the plant growth. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the relationship between the plant phenotypic and hormonal variables. PCA pointed to a strong association of auxin induction with plant growth stimulation by Trichoderma. Furthermore, the disease-protectant ability of the Trichoderma strains against F. oxysporum infection seems to be more related to their induced alterations in the content of the hormones abscisic acid, ethylene, and the cytokinin trans-zeatin riboside than to the in vitro antagonism activity against F. oxysporum.

Modularity reveals the tendency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to interact differently with generalist and specialist plant species in gypsum soils.

Patterns in plant-soil biota interactions could be influenced by the spatial distribution of species due to soil conditions or by the functional traits of species. Gypsum environments usually constitute a mosaic of heterogeneous soils where gypsum and nongypsum soils are imbricated at a local scale. A case study of the interactions of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in gypsum environments can be illustrative of patterns in biotic interactions. We hypothesized that (i) soil characteristics might affect the AMF community and (ii) there are differences between the AMF communities (modules) associated with plants exclusive to gypsum soils (gypsophytes) and those associated with plants that show facultative behavior on gypsum and/or marly-limestone soils (gypsovags). We used indicator species and network analyses to test for differences between the AMF communities harbored in gypsophyte and gypsovag plants. We recorded 46 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to nine genera of Glomeromycota. The indicator species analysis showed two OTUs preferentially associating with gypsum soils and three OTUs preferentially associating with marly-limestone soils. Modularity analysis revealed that soil type can be a major factor shaping AMF communities, and some AMF groups showed a tendency to interact differently with plants that had distinct ecological strategies (gypsophytes and gypsovags). Characterization of ecological networks can be a valuable tool for ascertaining the potential influence of above- and below-ground biotic interactions (plant-AMF) on plant community composition.

Exogenous ABA accentuates the differences in root hydraulic properties between mycorrhizal and non mycorrhizal maize plants through regulation of PIP aquaporins.

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis has been shown to modulate the same physiological processes as the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) and to improve plant tolerance to water deficit. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the combined influence of AM symbiosis and exogenous ABA application on plant root hydraulic properties and on plasma-membrane intrinsic proteins (PIP) aquaporin gene expression and protein accumulation after both a drought and a recovery period. Results obtained showed that the application of exogenous ABA enhanced osmotic root hydraulic conductivity (L) in all plants, regardless of water conditions, and that AM plants showed lower L values than nonAM plants, a difference that was especially accentuated when plants were supplied with exogenous ABA. This effect was clearly correlated with the accumulation pattern of the different PIPs analyzed, since most showed reduced expression and protein levels in AM plants fed with ABA as compared to their nonAM counterparts. The possible involvement of plant PIP aquaporins in the differential regulation of L by ABA in AM and nonAM plants is further discussed.

Increased diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a long-term field experiment via application of organic amendments to a semiarid degraded soil.

In this study, we tested whether communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi associated with roots of plant species forming vegetative cover as well as some soil parameters (amounts of phosphatase and glomalin-related soil protein, microbial biomass C and N concentrations, amount of P available, and aggregate stability) were affected by different amounts (control, 6.5 kg m(-2), 13.0 kg m(-2), 19.5 kg m(-2), and 26.0 kg m(-2)) of an urban refuse (UR) 19 years after its application to a highly eroded, semiarid soil. The AM fungal small-subunit (SSU) rRNA genes were subjected to PCR, cloning, single-stranded conformation polymorphism analysis, sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. One hundred sixteen SSU rRNA sequences were analyzed, and nine AM fungal types belonging to Glomus groups A and B were identified: three of them were present in all the plots that had received UR, and six appeared to be specific to certain amendment doses. The community of AM fungi was more diverse after the application of the different amounts of UR. The values of all the soil parameters analyzed increased proportionally with the dose of amendment applied. In conclusion, the application of organic wastes enhanced soil microbial activities and aggregation, and the AM fungal diversity increased, particularly when a moderate dose of UR (13.0 kg m(-2)) was applied.

Plant responses to drought stress and exogenous ABA application are modulated differently by mycorrhization in tomato and an ABA-deficient mutant (sitiens).

The aims of the present study are to find out whether the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis on plant resistance to water deficit are mediated by the endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) content of the host plant and whether the exogenous ABA application modifies such effects. The ABA-deficient tomato mutant sitiens and its near-isogenic wild-type parental line were used. Plant development, physiology, and expression of plant genes expected to be modulated by AM symbiosis, drought, and ABA were studied. Results showed that only wild-type tomato plants responded positively to mycorrhizal inoculation, while AM symbiosis was not observed to have any effect on plant development in sitiens plants grown under well-watered conditions. The application of ABA to sitiens plants enhanced plant growth both under well-watered and drought stress conditions. In respect to sitiens plants subjected to drought stress, the addition of ABA had a cumulative effect in relation to that of inoculation with G. intraradices. Most of the genes analyzed in this study showed different regulation patterns in wild-type and sitiens plants, suggesting that their gene expression is modulated by the plant ABA phenotype. In the same way, the colonization of roots with the AM fungus G. intraradices differently regulated the expression of these genes in wild-type and in sitiens plants, which could explain the distinctive effect of the symbiosis on each plant ABA phenotype. This also suggests that the effects of the AM symbiosis on plant responses and resistance to water deficit are mediated by the plant ABA phenotype.