The fungal symbionts forming ectomycorrhizas, as well as their associated bacteria, benefit forest trees in a number of ways although the most important is enhancing soil nutrient mobilization and ...uptake. This is reciprocated by the allocation of carbohydrates by the tree to the fungus through the root interface, making the relationship a mutualistic association. Many field observations suggest that ectomycorrhizal fungi contribute to a number of key ecosystem functions such as carbon cycling, nutrient mobilization from soil organic matter, nutrient mobilization from soil minerals, and linking trees through common mycorrhizal networks. Until now, it has been very difficult to study trees and their fungal associates in forest ecosystems and most of the work on ECM functioning has been done in laboratory or nursery conditions. In this review with discuss the possibility of working at another scale, in forest settings. Numerous new techniques are emerging that makes possible the
in situ study of the functional diversity of ectomycorrhizal communities. This approach should help to integrate developing research on the functional ecology of ectomycorrhizas and their associated bacteria with the potential implications of such research for managing the effects of climate change on forests.
Introduction
Important nutrients in forest soils such as nitrogen and phosphorus are mostly recycled from natural polymeric compounds contained in litter and organic debris—for example nucleic acids, ...proteins, or chitin.
Objectives
Activities of enzymes such as phosphatases, proteases, cellulases, chitinases and laccase were shown in saprotrophic but also in ectomycorrhizal fungi and there is increasing evidence that these enzymes contribute not only to the functioning of the symbiosis but also to the mobilisation of nutrients. In the present review, we describe how enzyme secretion and localisation on fungal hyphae may be connected to the potential role in soil nutrient cycling.
Results
Recently developed methods for enzyme activity studies of ectomycorrhizae directly assayed in or collected from the field such as enzyme activity profiling and soil imprinting are described. Their value and limitations in different examples of ecological studies is highlighted and discussed also with respect to the role of other soil microorganisms associated with ectomycorrhizae.
Conclusion
The conclusion from our review is that enzyme activities of ECM and their associated microorganisms provide a potentially enormous plasticity of mycorrhizosphere functionality which is an open field for further research. Enzymes secrétés par les champignons ectomycorhiziens et exploitation des éléments minéraux contenus dans la matière organique du sol.
The fungal dimension of biological invasions Desprez-Loustau, Marie-Laure; Robin, Cécile; Buée, Marc ...
Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam),
09/2007, Letnik:
22, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Fungi represent an essential component of biodiversity, not only because of the large number of species, but also for their ecological, evolutionary and socio-economic significance. Yet, until ...recently, fungi received scant consideration in ecology, especially invasion ecology. Their under-representation is largely the result of a lack of scientific knowledge of fungal biodiversity and ecology. With the exception of pathogenic fungi, which cause emergent infectious diseases, the impact of fungal invasions is often difficult to quantify owing to limited baseline data on fungal communities. Here, we aim to raise awareness among mycologists and ecologists of the fungal dimension of invasions and of the need to intensify research in fungal ecology to address issues of future introductions.
The ectomycorrhizas (ECM) formed by
Lactarius quietus, an ECM fungus specifically associated with
Quercus spp., are abundant all the year long. Root and stem growth, beginning before bud break in ...oak, are strong carbon sinks partially fulfilled with carbohydrate reserves. We hypothesized that
L. quietus contributes to providing trees with carbon at bud break through enzymatic activities before photosynthesis begins. Activities of eight secreted enzymes (xylosidase, glucuronidase, cellobiohydrolase,
β-glucosidase,
N-acetyl-glucosamine, leucine aminopeptidase, acid phosphatase and laccase) relevant to carbon cycling and the release of phophorus and nitrogen from soil organic matter were measured on
L. quietus ECMs before, during and after the bud break. Phenological, climatic and pedoclimatic parameters were also measured. Laccase, glucuronidase, cellobiohydrolase and
β-glucosidase activities proved to be significantly related to tree reactivation and climate. All these activities can help the formation of new tissues by supplying carbon.
L. quietus can behave saprotrophically, using soil organic matter as substrate. This is consistent with the hypothesis that it provides the oak trees with carbon when demand is high and photoassimilates are not yet available.
The ectomycorrhizal community of an oak forest has been monitored monthly throughout fifteen months. Eight enzymatic activities secreted by the ectomycorrhizal root tips and involved in the ...mobilization of nutrients from soil organic matter have been measured using microplate assays, resulting in potential activity patterns of individual fungal species. Both the species structure of the community and the specific activity level of each individual species changed with the season and soil horizon. This versatility may be an adaptative response of the ectomycorrhizal fungal community to a highly variable environment. The results also suggest that some ectomycorrhizal fungi behave as occasional saprobes and contribute to the decomposition of soil organic matter and nutrient cycling together with true saprotrophic fungi.
The species structure of an ectomycorrhizal (ECM) community was assessed monthly for 15 months in the two horizons (A1 and A2) of an oak temperate forest in northeastern France. Ectomycorrhizal ...species were identified each month by internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Seventy-five fungal symbionts were identified. The community was dominated by Tomentellaceae, Russulaceae, Cortinariaceae, and Boletales. Four species are abundant in the study site: Lactarius quietus, Tomentella sublilacina, Cenococcum geophilum, and Russula sp1. The relative abundance of each species varied depending on the soil horizon and over time. Some species, such as L. quietus, were present in the A1 and A2 horizons. C. geophilum was located particularly in the A2 horizon, whereas T. sublilacina was more abundant in A1. Some species, such as Clavulina sp., were detected in winter, while T. sublilacina and L. quietus were present all year long. Our results support the hypothesis that a rapid turnover of species composition of the ECM community occurs over the course of a month. The spatial and temporal unequal distribution of ECM species could be explained by their ecological preferences, driven by such factors as root longevity, competition for resources, and resistance to environmental variability.
In acidic forest soils, availability of inorganic nutrients is a tree-growth-limiting factor. A hypothesis to explain sustainable forest development proposes that tree roots select soil microbes ...involved in central biogeochemical processes, such as mineral weathering, that may contribute to nutrient mobilization and tree nutrition. Here we showed, by combining soil analyses with cultivation-dependent analyses of the culturable bacterial communities associated with the widespread mycorrhizal fungus Scleroderma citrinum, a significant enrichment of bacterial isolates with efficient mineral weathering potentials around the oak and beech mycorrhizal roots compared to bulk soil. Such a difference did not exist in the rhizosphere of Norway spruce. The mineral weathering ability of the bacterial isolates was assessed using a microplaque assay that measures the pH and the amount of iron released from biotite. Using this microplate assay, we demonstrated that the bacterial isolates harboring the most efficient mineral weathering potential belonged to the Burkholderia genus. Notably, previous work revealed that oak and beech harbored very similar pHs in the 5- to 10-cm horizon in both rhizosphere and bulk soil environments. In the spruce rhizosphere, in contrast, the pH was significantly lower than that in bulk soil. Because the production of protons is one of the main mechanisms responsible for mineral weathering, our results suggest that certain tree species have developed indirect strategies for mineral weathering in nutrient-poor soils, which lie in the selection of bacterial communities with efficient mineral weathering potentials.
Liming (Ca-Mg soil amendment) is a forestry practice used to correct soil acidification and restore health and productivity in declining stands. Liming is known to modify tree mineral nutrition ...beyond the sole Ca and Mg. We hypothesized that liming also modifies the very functioning of the tree absorbing system (that is the ectomycorrhizal fine roots) in a way that facilitates the mobilization of mineral nutrients, particularly those entrapped in soil organic matter. This hypothesis has been tested here in beech and Norway spruce stands in North-Eastern France. In autumn, we compared the ectomycorrhizal community structure and the enzymatic profiles of ectomycorrhizal root tips in limed and untreated plots by measuring the activities of eight enzymes related to the degradation of soil organic matter. The results show that the ectomycorrhizal community responds to the Ca-Mg amendment and to the resulting soil modifications by modified enzyme activity profiles and ability to mobilize nutrients from soil organic matter. The effects of liming on the belowground functioning of the tree stands result essentially from specialized ECM fungal species such as Clavulina cristata (with strong glucuronidase activity), Lactarius subdulcis (with strong laccase activity) or Xerocomus pruinatus (with strong leucine aminopeptidase activity).
This work was aimed at understanding how the functional diversity of ectomycorrhizas (ECM) is driven by environmental factors and how it adapts to the structure of the forest stand. Superficial fine ...roots were sampled 21 times during an entire year in two adjacent plots (no thinning and strong thinning) of a mature beech (Fagus silvatica) forest. Individual ectomycorrhizal root tips were morphologically characterised and the symbiotic fungi were molecularly identified. ECM were also tested for dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase activities, and soil moisture and temperature were recorded. The results provide a description of ECM community dynamics over a whole year in the two stands. The main conclusions are threefold: (1) the species structure of the ECM community and metabolic activity of each morphotype change depending on the season, temperature and soil moisture, and a number of morphotypes are more abundant and active in winter than in summer, (2) the silviculture treatment (strong thinning) modifies the ectomycorrhizal community structure, and (3) the overall function of the ECM community results from the individual time pattern and specialisation of each morphotype.
1. Characterizing the ecological processes driving the assembly and functional composition of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities is an area of active research. 2. Here, we applied a trait-based ...framework to address whether and how environmental filtering and niche differentiation influence the diversity of ECM fungal enzymatic activities in two oak-dominated forest ecosystems. We hypothesized that fungal enzymatic activities and ECM community assembly are influenced by the availability of targeted resources in the surrounding soil. 3. We pinpointed a major influence of environmental filtering on ECM fungal taxonomic and functional composition. Contrasted taxonomic composition among forest ecosystems was linked to broad interspecific trait variation and entailed contrasted functional responses at community level. However, intraspecific trait variation contributed to community response within ecosystems. We characterized a strong relationship between enzymatic activities and targeted resource availability in surrounding soil, suggesting a functional role of the enzymes for the acquisition of these resources. Conversely, we did not find a significant influence of niche differentiation in ECM community assembly. 4. Synthesis. Heterogeneous distribution of soil resources drives a community-level functional response and determines the functional and taxonomic mosaic of ECM communities in forest ecosystems.
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