Trends in Plant Science
OpinionEcological understanding of root-infecting fungi using trait-based approaches
Section snippets
Limitations of categorical approaches to study plant–soil fungal interactions
Understanding the effects of plant–soil fungal interactions in natural communities has become a major research area in plant science [1]. Interest in these interactions stem from increasing awareness that soil biota play an important role in plant performance, plant community assembly, and ecosystem functioning [2].
However, the complexity of soil fungal communities challenges our ability to understand the effects of such interactions on plant performance and on ecosystems processes. Recent
A fungal-trait approach: understanding the saprotrophic–symbiotic continuum
Trait-based approaches rely on measurements of phenotypic characters or traits to guide inferences about particular ecological or evolutionary processes (Box 1). For example, plant scientists have successfully used such approaches to understand how fire has influenced the evolution within the Pinaceae by combining trait information with phylogenetic reconstructions [12], to measure the relative importance of abiotic factors and biotic interactions in shaping community assembly of tropical trees
Symbiotic and saprotrophic traits: a starting point
In Table 1 we provide some examples of traits that we consider to be critical in assessing the ecology and evolution of ‘endophytic/pathogenic’ root-infecting fungi. As will be evident from the brief discussion of the rationale for each of them, these broad traits will themselves consist of many component traits that are operationally measurable. We expand on some of these points below.
Symbiotic traits are often related to the ability of fungi to avoid or overcome resistance responses driven by
Trait measurement and storage of trait information in high quality databases
The full application of any trait-based approach depends on the accessibility of databases that are well-curated, well-funded, and linked to genomic and phylogenetic information. Phylogenetic databases have already been created for taxonomic purposes (e.g., UNITE [38]; http://www.deemy.de for ectomycorrhizal fungi). Thus, there is an excellent window of opportunity to integrate trait information generated from morphological and physiological characterization of newly isolated fungi with such
Concluding remarks
Rigorous comparative studies linked with phylogenetic information that is focused on traits, rather than qualitative categories, are necessary to determine what constitutes an adaptation to a particular lifestyle. In turn, traits can be used to make predictions about the impact and causes of community structure, and traits that strongly influence ecosystem function can be highlighted and measured for predicting outcomes. In this opinion paper, as illustrated in Figure 1, we advocate a more
Acknowledgments
We thank the Alumni Network Program of Freie Universität Berlin for funding. C.A.A-T. was also supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), I.C.A. by a fellowship from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and J.A. by an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award. We thank Sarah Hortal, Anna Simonin, Jen Walker, Erik Verbruggen, and anonymous reviewers for constructive comments.
Glossary
- Biotroph
- nutritional mode in which a fungal symbiont exclusively relies on living host cells as a source of nutrients.
- Functional trait
- species traits directly linked with a particular ecosystem process. Different species sharing similar functional traits are pooled into functional groups.
- Life history trait
- traits reflecting allocation of resources of an individual into different fitness components.
- Necrotroph
- nutritional mode in which a fungal symbiont causes host cell death in order to acquire
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