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Regulation of resource exchange in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis

Nature Plants volume 1, Article number: 15159 (2015) Cite this article

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Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are one of the most important groups of plant symbionts. These fungi provide mineral nutrients to plants in exchange for carbon. Although substantial amounts of resources are exchanged, the factors that regulate trade in the AM symbiosis are poorly understood. Recent evidence for the reciprocally regulated exchange of resources by AM fungi and plants has led to the suggestion that these symbioses operate according to biological market dynamics, in which interactions are viewed from an economic perspective, and the most beneficial partners are favoured. Here we present five arguments that challenge the importance of reciprocally regulated exchange, and thereby market dynamics, for resource exchange in the AM symbiosis, and suggest that such reciprocity is only found in a subset of symbionts, under specific conditions. We instead propose that resource exchange in the AM symbiosis is determined by competition for surplus resources, functional diversity and sink strength.

The exchange of carbon for soil nutrients is thought to be the cornerstone of one of the most important symbioses of terrestrial ecosystems — the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis1. The AM symbiosis is formed between more than two-thirds of all plant species and a specific group of soil fungi belonging to the Glomeromycota2. AM fungi form extensive hyphal networks in the soil and forage for mineral nutrients that are delivered to their host plants in return for photosynthetically fixed carbon. This resource exchange is of substantial volume. Plants invest between 10 and 30% of their photosynthetic products in their fungal symbionts, and receive up to 90% of their nutritional requirements from them3,4. AM fungi in turn are inherently dependent on plant carbon5. The AM symbiosis evolved successfully from the beginning of terrestrial life and therefore is an example of great evolutionary stability6.

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Figure 1: Mycorrhizal responsiveness of different plant species co-occurring in experimental plant communities inoculated with different AM fungi.
Figure 2: Exchange of carbon for soil nutrients in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Pellkofer and K. Hartman for assistance in copyediting the manuscript, and Manu Magic Meyer for contributing artwork for Fig. 2. We also thank A. Fitter for constructive comments. This work was supported by Agroscope, the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant 143097) and the EU project OSCAR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant–Soil Interactions, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Agroscope, Zürich, 8046, Switzerland

    Florian Walder & Marcel G.A. van der Heijden

  2. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Zürich, 8057, Switzerland

    Marcel G.A. van der Heijden

  3. Plant–Microbe Interactions, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CH, The Netherlands

    Marcel G.A. van der Heijden

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F.W. and M.G.A.v.d.H. co-wrote and edited the paper and generated the figures.

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Walder, F., van der Heijden, M. Regulation of resource exchange in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature Plants 1, 15159 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.159

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