The cryptic lifestyle of most fungi necessitates molecular identification of the guild in environmental studies. Over the past decades, rapid development and affordability of molecular tools have ...tremendously improved insights of the fungal diversity in all ecosystems and habitats. Yet, in spite of the progress of molecular methods, knowledge about functional properties of the fungal taxa is vague and interpretation of environmental studies in an ecologically meaningful manner remains challenging. In order to facilitate functional assignments and ecological interpretation of environmental studies we introduce a user friendly traits and character database FungalTraits operating at genus and species hypothesis levels. Combining the information from previous efforts such as FUNGuild and Fun
Fun
together with involvement of expert knowledge, we reannotated 10,210 and 151 fungal and Stramenopila genera, respectively. This resulted in a stand-alone spreadsheet dataset covering 17 lifestyle related traits of fungal and Stramenopila genera, designed for rapid functional assignments of environmental studies. In order to assign the trait states to fungal species hypotheses, the scientific community of experts manually categorised and assigned available trait information to 697,413 fungal ITS sequences. On the basis of those sequences we were able to summarise trait and host information into 92,623 fungal species hypotheses at 1% dissimilarity threshold.
Soil microbiome has a pivotal role in ecosystem functioning, yet little is known about its build-up from local to regional scales. In a multi-year regional-scale survey involving 1251 plots and ...long-read third-generation sequencing, we found that soil pH has the strongest effect on the diversity of fungi and its multiple taxonomic and functional groups. The pH effects were typically unimodal, usually both direct and indirect through tree species, soil nutrients or mold abundance. Individual tree species, particularly
Pinus sylvestris
,
Picea abies
, and
Populus x wettsteinii
, and overall ectomycorrhizal plant proportion had relatively stronger effects on the diversity of biotrophic fungi than saprotrophic fungi. We found strong temporal sampling and investigator biases for the abundance of molds, but generally all spatial, temporal and microclimatic effects were weak. Richness of fungi and several functional groups was highest in woodlands and around ruins of buildings but lowest in bogs, with marked group-specific trends. In contrast to our expectations, diversity of soil fungi tended to be higher in forest island habitats potentially due to the edge effect, but fungal richness declined with island distance and in response to forest fragmentation. Virgin forests supported somewhat higher fungal diversity than old non-pristine forests, but there were no differences in richness between natural and anthropogenic habitats such as parks and coppiced gardens. Diversity of most fungal groups suffered from management of seminatural woodlands and parks and thinning of forests, but especially for forests the results depended on fungal group and time since partial harvesting. We conclude that the positive effects of tree diversity on overall fungal richness represent a combined niche effect of soil properties and intimate associations.
•We evaluated the response of rose geranium to two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) under different irrigation regimes and drought stress.•Full irrigation regime (100% Field Capacity) resulted in ...adverse effect on essential oil production.•AMF inoculation successfully enhanced plant enzymatic defence system.•AMF could maintain the essential oil production of rose geranium plants under drought conditions.
Drought stress is a major problem that suppresses the growth and yield of plants. Certain microorganisms, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), can improve plant resistance against environmental stresses. The current study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of mycorrhizal inoculation on rose geranium under different irrigation regimes. The experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with three irrigation levels, including 100, 75 and 50% Field Capacity (FC). Mycorrhizal inoculation included Glomus mosseae (Gm), Glomus intraradices (Gi), a combination of both species (Gi+Gm), and a non-inoculated control (NM). The results showed that root colonization was suppressed in the severe water deficit condition (50% FC). The essential oil content significantly increased by 16% when the plants were under moderate water deficit (75% FC) compared to 100% FC. AMF inoculation improved the essential oil content and oil yield compared to the non-inoculated treatment regardless of water regime. Catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase activities reached peak values when plants were under the moderate water deficit condition (75% FC). Regardless of the AMF inoculation treatment, the plant enzymatic defence system was significantly improved compared to that of non-inoculated plants, and all inoculations resulted in lower MDA and H2O2 accumulation in plant tissue. In general, the results suggest that rose geranium can be successfully grown in areas with limited available water and that AMF can be employed to grow this plant under water stress conditions to alleviate the adverse effects of water stress.
In recent years, the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been considered to be an important strategy for improving crop yield and quality. In the present study, a factorial ...experiment based on a complete randomized design with two factors was performed to investigate the effect of AMF and water stress on the essential oil (EO) composition, antioxidant activity, and physiological and morphological characteristics of rose-scented geranium (
Pelargonium graveolens
L.). The factors included AMF inoculation (
Rhizophagus intraradices, Funneliformis mosseae
, and a mixture of both species) and irrigation levels well-watered (WW), moderate drought stress (MDS), and severe drought stress (SDS). The main EO constituents were citronellol (31–37%) and geraniol (9–14%) in all treatments. Under water-stress conditions, some constituents increased, such as geraniol and geranyl formate, whereas others decreased, such as linalool, menthone and rose oxide. Overall, the highest amount of citronellol (37.3%) and geraniol (14.8%) was obtained in the plants inoculated with
F. mosseae
and
R. intraradices
under WW and MDS conditions, respectively. Antioxidant activity, total flavonoids, and phenolics were increased because of AMF inoculation, whereas a different trend was observed for the phenolic and flavonoid contents under water-stress conditions. Furthermore, water deficit elevated the amount of soluble carbohydrates as well as the proline content, whereas the amount of proline was lower in inoculated plants than in non-inoculated ones. All the growth parameters were improved in the AMF-inoculated plants compared to non-inoculated ones under different irrigation regimes. Drought conditions decreased the photosynthetic pigments and efficiency, whereas AMF plants ameliorated the adverse effect of drought conditions. In general, mycorrhizal inoculation resulted in an improvement in the growth parameters as well as the phytochemical and physiological characteristics of rose-scented geranium.
Stress induced by water deficit is considered to be a global problem and one of the most important factors limiting crop production in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Application of certain ...microorganisms, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), is considered to be an effective and sustainable strategy to mitigate the problem. A pot experiment was conducted in the field (from Feb. to Sep. in 2013–2014 in Isfahan, Iran) to assess the effectiveness of AMF inoculation on changes in biomass, essential oils, nutrient uptake and water-use efficiency of rose geranium (
Pelargonium graveolens
L.) experiencing stress induced by a deficit of water. The experiment was planned as a factorial experiment, using a completely randomized design, with two factors, including four AMF inoculation (non-mycorrhizal,
Rhizophagus intraradices
and
Funneliformis mosseae
inoculated
,
and the combination of both species) and three irrigation levels including well-watered (WW), moderate water deficiency (MWD) and severe water deficiency (SWD). The results indicated the occurrence of an adverse effect of water deficit on plant total biomass; however, AMF inoculation positively increased plant biomass compared to the non-inoculated ones under three irrigation levels. MWD condition resulted in higher essential oil (EO) content (12.4 %), water-use efficiency (WUE) (29.5 %) and glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) (19.1 %) in the plants compared to WW condition. Furthermore, all AMF inoculation improved EO content by at least 12 k%. The results also showed that severe water deficiency adversely affected the uptake of most nutrients by plants especially in non-inoculated plants. The results also revealed that, although EO production was under the control of irrigation regime, nutrient uptake was critically dependent on an association with mycorrhizae. Notwithstanding the fact that rose geranium can tolerate moderate drought stress, the high responsiveness of rose geranium to AMF under water deficiency stress confirms the key role of AMF in facilitating the production of this valuable crop in harsh environments. Dual infection of rose geranium with two AMF species could also synergistically affect biomass, essential oil content and mineral elements absorption.
Given the anticipation of water supply becoming increasingly scarce in the future and costlier, water conservation in turfgrass management has become extremely important. The application of ...mycorrhizal fungi in water scarcity has been considered as one of the most promising methods to improve turfgrass management. Accordingly, the present study evaluates the potential role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation in the growth of two turfgrass species under water stress conditions. Two turfgrass species (Kentucky bluegrass
Poa pratensis
and perennial ryegrass
Lolium perenne
L.) were subjected to two watering regimes (well-watered watering 100% field capacity and water deficit watering 50% field capacity) in the presence of AMF (a mixture of
Funneliformis mosseae
and
Rhizophagus irregularis
, or non-inoculated plants non-AMF as control) and humic acid spray treatments (0 mg/L and 500 mg/L). Not surprisingly, lack of water resulted in diminished morphological traits, mineral nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, relative water content, and enzyme activities, and increased proline content, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide concentrations in both turfgrass species. On the other hand, AMF-inoculated plants grown under well-watered conditions showed increased plant biomass, phosphorous concentration, and relative water content compared to non-AMF plants. Further, nitrogen and potassium concentrations and catalase activity were improved by humic acid. There was no significant difference in water stress tolerance between
P. pratensis
and
L. perenne
. In conclusion, the two turfgrass species showed a good response to AMF inoculation under water stress conditions, where humic acid was found to be less effective.
The unique fresh and hardened properties of high-performance self-consolidating concrete (HPSCC) led to an extensive application of this mixture in high-rise buildings. In this paper, the elevated ...temperature resistivity of 19 HPSCC mixtures incorporating binary and ternary blends of fly ash, silica fume, natural zeolite, and metakaolin was investigated. Changes in mass, compressive strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of the mixtures were measured at different temperatures (20, 300, 500, and 700 °C). A life cycle assessment (LCA) was also employed to explore the environmental performance of the mixtures. The test results revealed that in ambient temperature, ternary mixtures incorporating natural zeolite and fly ash or natural zeolite and metakaolin have lower compressive strength than that of the control mixture. The residual compressive strengths of fly ash-silica fume-incorporated mixture was similar to those in binary mixtures. The UPV test results revealed a larger than 50% reduction in transition velocity when the temperature was above 500 °C, and there is a strong association between the UPV and compressive strength test results of the mixtures at different temperatures, but the correlation decreased inversely proportional to the exposure temperature. Among the ternary mixtures, those mixtures that incorporate natural zeolite indicate the most significant mass loss after exposing to elevated temperature. The environmental results indicate that the substitution of pozzolanic materials with Portland cement may not always be beneficial. The ecosystem quality results of binary fly ash mixtures were larger than the control mixture due to the extensive transportation distance of import. In addition, metakaolin binary mixture exposes larger damage to the resources. Silica fume-incorporated mixtures had significant damage to human health. The ternary blended mixtures can be a remedy to obtain the optimized fire-resistant results and to compensate the environmental burdens of the inferior pozzolan in all the damage categories.
•Priority for vaccination of immunosuppressed patients with a potent COVID-19 vaccine.•Benefit of new COVID-19 vaccines (mRNA, vector-based) in these patients is unknown.•Efficacy is the main concern ...as immunosuppressives may impair response to vaccine.•Decision on vaccine timing based on patient’s condition and indicated medication.•Recommendation for post-vaccination monitoring to ensure adequate immune response.
Since the beginning of vaccination programs against COVID-19 in different countries, several populations such as patients with specific immunological conditions have been considered as the priorities for immunization. In this regard, patients with autoimmune diseases or those receiving immunosuppressive agents and anti-cancer therapies, need special attention. However, no confirmed data is presently available regarding COVID-19 vaccines in these populations due to exclusion from the conducted clinical trials. Given the probable suppression or over-activation of the immune system in such patients, reaching a consensus for their vaccination is critical, besides gathering data and conducting trials, which could probably clarify this matter in the future. In this review, besides a brief on the available COVID-19 vaccines, considerations and available knowledge about administering similar vaccines in patients with cancer, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, solid organ transplantation, multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and rheumatologic and dermatologic autoimmune disorders are summarized to help in decision making. As discussed, live-attenuated viruses, which should be avoided in these groups, are not employed in the present COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, the main concern regarding efficacy could be met using a potent COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, the vaccination timing for maximum efficacy could be decided according to the patient’s condition, indicated medications, and the guides provided here. Post-vaccination monitoring is also advised to ensure an adequate immune response. Further studies in this area are urgently warranted.
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