Sanders Ian R, Rodriguez Alia
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Biology Department, Faculty of Science, National University of Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria, Bogotá, Colombia.
ISME J. 2016 Dec;10(12):2780-2786. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2016.73. Epub 2016 Apr 29.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) occur in the roots of most plants and are an ecologically important component of the soil microbiome. Richness of AMF taxa is a strong driver of plant diversity and productivity, thus providing a rationale for characterizing AMF diversity in natural ecosystems. Consequently, a large number of molecular studies on AMF community composition are currently underway. Most published studies, at best, only address species or genera-level resolution. However, several experimental studies indicate that variation in plant performance is large among plants colonised by different individuals of one AMF species. Thus, there is a potential disparity between how molecular community ecologists are currently describing AMF diversity and the level of AMF diversity that may actually be ecologically relevant. We propose a strategy to find many polymorphic loci that can define within-species genetic variability within AMF, or at any level of resolution desired within the Glomermycota. We propose that allele diversity at the intraspecific level could then be measured for target AMF groups, or at other levels of resolution, in environmental DNA samples. Combining the use of such markers with experimental studies on AMF diversity would help to elucidate the most important level(s) of AMF diversity in plant communities. Our goal is to encourage ecologists who are trying to explain how mycorrhizal fungal communities are structured to take an approach that could also yield meaningful information that is relevant to the diversity, functioning and productivity of ecosystems.
丛枝菌根真菌（AMF）存在于大多数植物的根系中，是土壤微生物群落的一个重要生态组成部分。AMF分类群的丰富度是植物多样性和生产力的强大驱动力，因此为在自然生态系统中描述AMF多样性提供了理论依据。因此，目前正在进行大量关于AMF群落组成的分子研究。大多数已发表的研究充其量只涉及物种或属水平的分辨率。然而，一些实验研究表明，在被一种AMF物种的不同个体定殖的植物中，植物表现的差异很大。因此，分子群落生态学家目前描述AMF多样性的方式与可能实际具有生态相关性的AMF多样性水平之间可能存在差异。我们提出了一种策略，以找到许多多态性位点，这些位点可以定义AMF种内的遗传变异性，或在球囊霉门内所需的任何分辨率水平上定义。我们建议，然后可以在环境DNA样本中针对目标AMF群体或其他分辨率水平测量种内水平的等位基因多样性。将这些标记的使用与关于AMF多样性的实验研究相结合，将有助于阐明植物群落中AMF多样性最重要的水平。我们的目标是鼓励那些试图解释菌根真菌群落如何构建的生态学家采用一种方法，这种方法也可以产生与生态系统的多样性、功能和生产力相关的有意义信息。
