Bridging reproductive and microbial ecology: a case study in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

ABSTRACT: Offspring size is a key trait for understanding the reproductive ecology of species, yet studies addressing the ecological meaning of offspring size have so far been limited to macro-organisms. We consider this a missed opportunity in microbial ecology and provide what we believe is the first formal study of offspring-size variation in microbes using reproductive models developed for macro-organisms. We mapped the entire distribution of fungal spore size in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (subphylum Glomeromycotina) and tested allometric expectations of this trait to offspring (spore) output and body size. Our results reveal a potential paradox in the reproductive ecology of AM fungi: while large spore-size variation is maintained through evolutionary time (independent of body size),

SUBMITTER: Aguilar-Trigueros CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6461870 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature