Low spatial mobility of associated microbes along the hyphae limits organic nitrogen utilization in the arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphosphere.

ABSTRACT:

Bacground

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi enhance plant nutrient acquisition from soil; however, their ability to exploit organic nutrient forms in the absence of associated microbes capable of mineralization remains unclear.

Methods

To test if the AM fungi carry their beneficial bacterial partners into nutrient-rich zones, we conducted three controlled experiments manipulating the microbial inputs, diversity and composition in plant-AM fungus-soil systems, ranging from open pots to semi-sterile mesocosms. We manipulated soil microbial diversity by imposing a microbial diversity gradient (complex communities fractionated by size, resulting in fractions passing through 1 µm to 1000 µm sieves) and cultivated Andropogon gerardii in previously sterilized substrate toget

SUBMITTER: Vieira CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12833381 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature