Review Article

“Mata Analysis of Mycorrhizal networks as

Facilitators in Ecology”

By Adiba Nigar Warda

 University Of Wah

Submitted by: Adiba Nigar Warda (Reg #: 013)

Department: Biological Sciences
Discipline: 8th Semester
Course title: Mycology and Plant Pathology

Review Article:

“Mata Analysis of Mycorrhizal networks as

Facilitators in Ecology ”
                                                 

Submitted to: Dr. Aftab Afzal

                                                  Date of Submission: 09/08/2010
Mata analysis of Mycorrhizal networks as
Facilitators in Ecology

Adiba Nigar Warda .

Department of Biological Sciences; University of Wah (Wah Cantt,
Pakistan)
E-mail: humdasaba@gmail.com

Abstract
The goal of this study was to substantiate the Mycorrhizal networks as
Facilitators in Ecology. My clear focus is on plant and fungi symbiotic
relationships which prove an exceptional socialism in soil. In this I shall include
the response of ectomycorrhizal (EM) and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)
communities.
Almost all plants show fungal associations. It may differ from specie to
specie. Mycorrhizal fungi effect the plant growth, nutrition uptake, biodiversity
and ecosystem relations, etc.

Key words:

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal, ectomycorrhizas, meta-analysis,

symbiosis.
Introduction:
Meta-analysis is the process whereby statistical techniques are used to analyze
quantitatively the results from multiple studies. A common synthetic tool in the medical and
social sciences since the 1980s (reviewed by Schulze 2004), meta-analysis is now increasingly
being used by ecologists, and meta-analytic approaches are being developed to deal with the
specific characteristics of ecological data (Gurevitch and Hedges 1999, 2001, Gurevitch et al.
2001, Gates 2002, Lajeunesse and Forbes 2003). A survey of the top 20 journals in ecology
(ranked by ISI Impact Factor) using the Web of Science database reveals a striking increase in
the number of published meta-analyses over time, from an average of fewer than 5 per year in
the mid-1990s to more than 30 per year in 2006.1
Most plant species belong to families that typically form root symbioses with mycorrhizal
fungi, often with dramatic consequences for plant growth and reproduction (Koide2000), plant
community structure (Grime et al. 1987;Hartnett & Wilson 2002) and ecosystem functions
(Rillig 2004). Although these symbioses are cited in textbooks as clear examples of mutualism
and plants often benefit from the association, the interaction might better be viewed as exhibiting
a continuum of outcomes as the fungi can sometimes be of little net benefit to host plants or even
function as a net parasitism. Different variables control whether a symbiosis between a
mycorrhizal plant and fungus will develop as a mutualism or parasitism, including host plant
characteristics, fungal characteristics, soil biotic and abiotic conditions, and experimental
procedures (Modjo et al. 1987; Johnson et al. 1997; Klironomos 2003; Jones & Smith 2004);
however, predictions regarding the importance of these different variables have typically been
tested in isolation, with individual studies conducted using restricted subsets of plants and fungi.
Meta-analysis provides a quantitative method for integrating results from many different
experiments to answer broad questions, taking into account variation among studies in levels of
replication and data dispersion, and providing quantitative estimates for experimental effects and
relationships among variables (Hedges & Olkin 1985; Gurevitch & Hedges 1999). Meta-analysis
has been used to test the importance of single factors for variability in outcomes of the
ectomycorrhizal (EM) symbiosis (Karst et al. 2008), to examine responses of arbuscular
mycorrhizal (AM) and EM symbioses to N, P and CO2 fertilization (Treseder 2004), to test
whether AM fungi affect plant–pathogen interactions (Borowicz 2001), to compare the impacts
of different agricultural management practices on AM colonization and resulting growth
responses of crop plants (Lekberg & Koide 2005), and to compare the relative importance for
plants of Mycorrhizal symbioses vs. other types of interactions (Morris et al. 2007).2

Literature search:
Many mycorrhizal fungi are not host specific and one fungal individual can colonize and
interconnect a considerable number of plants. The existence of these so-called mycorrhizal
networks implies that fungi have the potential to facilitate growth of other plants and distribute
resources among plants irrespective of their size, status or identity. It was found that 60 cases
where seedling species were grown together with larger plants with or without mycorrhizal
fungal networks. Mycorrhizal networks promoted seedling growth in 48% of the cases (for 21
seedling species), while negative effects (25%) and no effects (27%) were also common.
Seedlings associating with ectomycorrhizal fungi benefitted in the majority of the cases while
effects on seedlings associating with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were more variable. Thus, the
facilitative effects of mycorrhizal fungal networks depend on seedling species identity,
mycorrhizal identity, plant species combinations and study system.3
A survey of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), and
hyphal networks of AMF was carried out in sand dune sites of different successional stages in
the Province Lands Area of Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. The study focused on
large-scale plantings (each of 12-20 ha) of American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) aged
0-7 yr and five adjacent natural dune areas. Sample sites ranged in vegetative cover from barren
to forested. Spores of 17 species of AMF were recovered from the dunes. Over the successional
sequence, there were increases in the richness and spore populations of the AMF community, the
extent of colonization of A. breviligulata roots, and the mycorrhizal inoculum potential of the
soil. Unvegetated sites lacked propagules of AMF, but roots of planted culms of A. breviligulata
(which carried propagules of AMF) became mycorrhizal in <1 yr after planting. Spores were
recovered from previously AMF-free sites that had been planted with beachgrass for 47 wk, and
five species of AMF sporulated in sites <6 yr old. Significant hyphal networks were not present
in any of the planted areas (<6 yr old at the time of sampling), but did occur in natural areas. The
rate of invasion of areas planted to A. breviligulata by later successional plant species may in
part depend upon the establishment of a vigorous network of hyphae of AMF in a site.4
Nitrogen isotope values (δ15N) are higher in ectomycorrhizal fungi than in their plant
hosts but the wide variability in δ15N among sporocarps of different fungal taxa is unexplained.
We propose that fungal δ15N reflects sequestration of fungal nitrogen to build fungal biomass,
and should accordingly reflect fungal exploration strategies and hyphal properties. To test this,
we compared δ15N to exploration types, hyphal hydrophobicity, and the presence of rhizomorphs
in ectomycorrhizal species from surveys at four sites in temperate and boreal coniferous forests.
Fungi with exploration types of high biomass, such as long-distance (e.g., Suillus), medium-
distance mat (e.g., Hydnellum), and medium-distance fringe (e.g., Cortinarius) were 4–7‰ more
enriched in 15N than fungi with exploration types of low biomass [medium-distance smooth (e.g.,
Amanita), short-distance (e.g., Inocybe), and contact (e.g., Hygrophorus)]. High biomass types
comprised 79% (Åheden, northern Sweden), 65% (Deer Park, Pacific Northwest, USA), 45%
(Stadsskogen, central Sweden), and 39% (Hoh, Pacific Northwest, USA) of ectomycorrhizal
species, with these types more prevalent at sites of lower nitrogen availability. Species with
hydrophobic hyphae or with rhizomorphs were 3–4‰ more enriched in 15N than taxa with
hydrophilic hyphae or without rhizomorphs. The consistency of these patterns suggest that δ 15N
measurements could provide insights into belowground functioning of poorly known taxa of
ectomycorrhizal fungi and into relative fungal biomass across ectomycorrhizal communities.5

A meta-analysis of context-dependency in plant response to

inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi; (Ecology Letters, (2010) 13:
394–407)showed that:

Conclusion:
 The meta-analysis of mycorrhizal inoculation experiments significantly advances our
understanding of the relative importance of the identity and functional characteristics of host
plant species, nutrient availability, the identity and diversity of mycorrhizal fungi, and other
biotic factors in the soil for the function of Mycorrhizal associations. Recently, ecologists have
begun to propose specific hypotheses on how simultaneous positive and negative interactions
influence plant community dynamics (Lortie et al. 2004; Brooker et al. 2008; Maestre et al.
2009).

Acknowledgement:
I compiled this article under the supervision of Dr. Aftab Afzal in
University Of Wah during the course of study. I am truly gratified to him for his
support and cooperation. He is really ready to lend a hand. My passionate prayers
are always with him.
References:
1. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; EmergTech, April 2010 page: 235
2. Ecology Letters, (2010) 13:395
3. Socialism in soil? The importance of mycorrhizal fungal networks for facilitation in natural
ecosystems Volume 97 Issue 6, Pages 1139 – 1150 Published Online: 13 Oct 2009
4. American Journal of Botany © 1997
5. Nitrogen isotopes in ectomycorrhizal sporocarps correspond to
belowground exploration types Journal: Plant and soil; Volume 327, Numbers
1-2 / February, 2010