Abstract
This study explores the relationships of AM fungal abundance and diversity with biotic (host plant, ungulate grazing) and abiotic (soil properties, precipitation) factors in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Soil and root samples were collected from grazed and ungrazed plots at seven sites across steep soil fertility and precipitation gradients. AM fungal abundance in the soil was estimated from the density of spores and the concentration of a fatty acid biomarker. Diversity of AM fungi in roots and soils was measured using DNA sequencing and spore identification. AM fungal abundance in soil decreased with grazing and precipitation and increased with soil phosphorus. The community composition of AM fungal DNA in roots and soils differed. Root samples had more AM fungal indicator species associated with biotic factors (host plant species and grazing), and soil samples had more indicator species associated with particular sample sites. These findings suggest that regional edaphic conditions shape the site-level species pool from which plant species actively select root-colonizing fungal assemblages modified by grazing. Combining multiple measurements of AM fungal abundance and community composition provides the most informed assessment of the structure of mycorrhizal fungal communities in natural ecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Lela Andrews and Matt Belus in the NAU Environmental Genetics and Genomics Lab (EnGGen) for their help with genetic analyses. We also thank Katherine Whiteacre in the Kaufman Lab and Suzanne Owen for providing equipment and technical expertise, and Anita Antoninka, Dan Revillini, and Rick Johnson for advice and support.
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The National Science Foundation provided funding for this work to NCJ (DEB-0842327). MÖ was supported by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (IUT20-28) and the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange).
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Nancy Collins Johnson planned and designed the research. Nancy Collins Johnson, Jeffrey Ryan Propster, and Emilian Mayemba collected samples. Jeffrey Ryan Propster and Bo Maxwell Stevens analyzed soil nutrient concentration and texture, Sara Lynne Alloway identified spores, Gail WT Wilson analyzed NLFA, and Maarja Öpik extracted root DNA. Bo Maxwell Stevens performed bioinformatics and statistics and created figures. Bo Maxwell Stevens, Maarja Öpik, and Nancy Collins Johnson analyzed and interpreted data. Bo Maxwell Stevens and Nancy Collins Johnson wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Maarja Öpik edited the first draft, and all authors contributed to the writing of the final manuscript.
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Stevens, B.M., Propster, J.R., Öpik, M. et al. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in roots and soil respond differently to biotic and abiotic factors in the Serengeti. Mycorrhiza 30, 79–95 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-020-00931-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-020-00931-5