Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as Natural Biofertilizers: Let's Benefit from Past Successes

By A. Berruti, E. Lumini, R. Balestrini, V. Bianciotto. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2016

724 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) constitute a group of root obligate biotrophs that exchange mutual benefits with about 80% of plants. They are considered natural biofertilizers, since they provide the host with water, nutrients, and pathogen protection, in exchange for photosynthetic products. Thus, AMF are primary biotic soil components which, when missing or impoverished, can lead to a less efficient ecosystem functioning. The process of re-establishing the natural level of AMF richness can represent a valid alternative to conventional fertilization practices, with a view to sustainable agriculture. The main strategy that can be adopted to achieve this goal is the direct re-introduction of AMF propagules (inoculum) into a target soil. Originally, AMF were described to generally lack host- and niche-specificity, and therefore suggested as agriculturally suitable for a wide range of plants and environmental conditions. Unfortunately, the assumptions that have been made and the results that have been obtained so far are often worlds apart. The problem is that success is unpredictable since different plant species vary their response to the same AMF species mix. Many factors can affect the success of inoculation and AMF persistence in soil, including species compatibility with the target environment, the degree of spatial competition with other soil organisms in the target niche and the timing of inoculation. Thus, it is preferable to take these factors into account when “tuning” an inoculum to a target environment in order to avoid failure of the inoculation process. Genomics and transcriptomics have led to a giant step forward in the research field of AMF, with consequent major advances in the current knowledge on the processes involved in their interaction with the host-plant and other soil organisms. The history of AMF applications in controlled and open-field conditions is now long. A review of biofertilization experiments, based on the use of AMF, has here been proposed, focusing on a few important factors that could increase the odds or jeopardize the success of the inoculation process.

Subfields: Pharmacology, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/32347f317f503b2c2749f617241ff79838613801

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Citations in the corpus

Cover cropping and no-till increase diversity and symbiotroph:saprotroph ratios of soil fungal communities (2019, background): “Increased NO3 availability has been linked to lower AMF infection rates as plants can then directly uptake nitrate and don't have to rely on AMF to provide N (Camenzind et al., 2014; Berruti et al., 2016).”
Response and interaction of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soybean rhizosphere (2018, background): “(Berruti et al. 2015), whereas N-fixing symbiotic rhizobacteria represent a key input in plant productivity by cycling of N from the atmosphere into the biosphere (Barea et al.”
Roles of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Plant Growth and Performance: Importance in Biotic and Abiotic Stressed Regulation (2020, background): “Consequently, as a result, the soluble N in the soil decreases and it can negatively affect the denitrification process [100,101].”
Estimating the contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to drought tolerance of potted olive trees (Olea europaea) (2018, background): “On low fertile soils, mycorrhizas improve assimilation of essential minerals (Berruti et al. 2016).”