Discover ectomycorrhizal fungi-triggered macro- and micronutrient reactions and movements: From cell to ecosystem function
EMSL Project ID
50960
Abstract
As the critical members of forest microbiome, ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) play important roles in forest ecosystems. EMF provide their tree hosts with macro- and micronutrients in exchange for photosynthetically fixed carbon (C) and can catalyze the breakdown of recalcitrant organic matter in forest soils. For example, EMF can interact with saprotrophs by promoting or suppressing their decomposer activity. Yet, the mechanistic processes that regulate these critical ecosystem functions of EMF remain unclear. Our recent studies indicate that the host compatibility of EMF in the fungal genus Suillus (the keystone species of pine-associated EMF) is related to variation in the genomic features of fungi both within and across species, as well as across geographic region. If interspecies compatibility of EMF and their symbiotic partners regulates the amount of plant C allocated belowground, it could serve as a major control over rhizosphere processes, nutrient movement through soils, and release of CO2 to the atmosphere. In this study, we will evaluate how the interactive factors of interspecies compatibility, geographic variance, and soil C status can influence EMF-triggered macro- and micronutrient movement through soil and ecosystem C cycling. We will work with JGI, EMSL, and NSLS-II/BNL to characterize the rhizosphere-EMF-plant interface of Suillus fungi and their plant hosts in the genus Pinus using genomic/metatranscirptomc (JGI), metaproteomics/metabolomics (EMSL) and chemical imaging technology (EMSL, BNL). Our model Suillus-Pinus system will be implemented in a novel rhizobox microcosm, where we leverage the distinct 13C isotope profiles of C3 Pinus plants and soils derived from C of C4 plants to partition soil respiration between EMF roots vs. soil organic matter decomposition. With this system, we will evaluate the dynamics of below- and aboveground processes (micronutrient movements, soil microbial activity, C-cycling/CO2 emissions, plant C/N) of Suillus-Pinus pairs with different degrees of compatibility (collected from different geographic locations). We request sequencing resource for 1Tb of 150PE illumina RNAseq from JGI, cDNA library construction and data analysis through comparative metranscriptomes (88 roots and 88 soil samples), and metabolomics/ metaproteomics/ imaging from EMSL (48 roots and 48 soil samples) for rhizosphere soil and mycorrhizal roots.
Project Details
Project type
FICUS Research
Start Date
2019-10-01
End Date
2022-04-22
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members