Diversity and Biotechnology of Soil Fungi and Rhizosphere Fungi

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Evolution, Biodiversity and Systematics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 May 2024 | Viewed by 999

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Biología Funcional y Biotecnología (BIOLAB) CONICET-UNCPBA, Azul, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interests: fungi; fungal diversity; soil fungi; rhizosphere fungi

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Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina
Interests: fungi; fungal diversity; pigmentation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the soil has drawn great scientific interest, and the rhizosphere is the most popular aspect of that interest. The rhizosphere is soil under the influence of a root system, where the interactions between organisms are intense and the phenomena of antagonism and synergism are exalted. The plant–root–soil interface is the system by which microorganisms make organic molecules available for absorption by the roots. Among the components of the microbiome of the soil and rhizosphere, the fungal community is relevant and closely linked to the health and growth of plants due to its potential antagonistic role and its involvement in plant residue decomposition and nutrient supply. The products of fungal growth and metabolic processes can be used for human benefit in the preparation of multiple products and in the synthesis of a variety of molecules with interesting chemistry and/or biology, with high added value (antibiotics, agents with surface activity, agent of biocontrol, resistance to salinity, etc.) and generating a higher yield and overproduction of chemodiversity. This Special Issue of the Journal of Fungi will focus on different forms of exploitation of biodiversity to promote innovative applications in biotechnology, including alternative models, the selection or detection of new species, ecological role, secondary metabolites and issues related to fungi.

Reviews, original research, and communications are welcome for submission.

Dr. María Virginia Moreno
Dr. Mario Carlos Nazareno Saparrat
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fungal development
  • pathogenesis
  • functional genomics
  • fungi–environment interactions

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3994 KiB  
Article
The Diversity and Community Composition of Three Plants’ Rhizosphere Fungi in Kaolin Mining Areas
by Wenqi Xiao, Yunfeng Zhang, Xiaodie Chen, Ajia Sha, Zhuang Xiong, Yingyong Luo, Lianxin Peng, Liang Zou, Changsong Zhao and Qiang Li
J. Fungi 2024, 10(5), 306; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10050306 - 24 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Mining activities in the kaolin mining area have led to the disruption of the ecological health of the mining area and nearby soils, but the effects on the fungal communities in the rhizosphere soils of the plants are not clear. Three common plants [...] Read more.
Mining activities in the kaolin mining area have led to the disruption of the ecological health of the mining area and nearby soils, but the effects on the fungal communities in the rhizosphere soils of the plants are not clear. Three common plants (Conyza bonariensis, Artemisia annua, and Dodonaea viscosa) in kaolin mining areas were selected and analyzed their rhizosphere soil fungal communities using ITS sequencing. The alpha diversity indices (Chao1, Shannon, Simpson, observed-species, pielou-e) of the fungal communities decreased to different extents in different plants compared to the non-kauri mining area. The β-diversity (PCoA, NMDS) analysis showed that the rhizosphere soil fungal communities of the three plants in the kaolin mine area were significantly differentiated from those of the control plants grown in the non-kaolin mine area, and the extent of this differentiation varied among the plants. The analysis of fungal community composition showed that the dominant fungi in the rhizosphere fungi of C. bonariensis and A. annua changed, with an increase in the proportion of Mycosphaerella (genus) by about 20% in C. bonariensis and A. annua. An increase in the proportion of Didymella (genus) by 40% in D. viscosa was observed. At the same time, three plant rhizosphere soils were affected by kaolin mining activities with the appearance of new fungal genera Ochrocladosporium and Plenodomus. Predictive functional potential analysis of the samples revealed that a significant decrease in the potential of functions such as biosynthesis and glycolysis occurred in the rhizosphere fungal communities of kaolin-mined plants compared to non-kaolin-mined areas. The results show that heavy metals and plant species are the key factors influencing these changes, which suggests that selecting plants that can bring more abundant fungi can adapt to heavy metal contamination to restore soil ecology in the kaolin mining area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity and Biotechnology of Soil Fungi and Rhizosphere Fungi)
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13 pages, 1791 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Managed Vegetation Restoration on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Diazotrophs in Karst Ecosystems
by Mingming Sun, Dan Xiao, Wei Zhang and Kelin Wang
J. Fungi 2024, 10(4), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10040280 - 10 Apr 2024
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Abstract
The crucial functional arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and diazotrophs play pivotal roles in nutrient cycling during vegetation restoration. However, the impact of managed vegetation restoration strategies on AMF and diazotroph communities remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the community structure and diversity [...] Read more.
The crucial functional arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and diazotrophs play pivotal roles in nutrient cycling during vegetation restoration. However, the impact of managed vegetation restoration strategies on AMF and diazotroph communities remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the community structure and diversity of AMF and diazotrophs in a karst region undergoing managed vegetation restoration from cropland. Soil samples were collected from soils under three vegetation restoration strategies, plantation forest (PF), forage grass (FG), and a mixture of plantation forest and forage grass (FF), along with a control for cropland rotation (CR). The diversity of both AMF and diazotrophs was impacted by managed vegetation restoration. Specifically, the AMF Shannon index was higher in CR and PF compared to FF. Conversely, diazotroph richness was lower in CR, PF, and FG than in FF. Furthermore, both AMF and diazotroph community compositions differed between CR and FF. The relative abundance of AMF taxa, such as Glomus, was lower in FF compared to the other three land-use types, while Racocetra showed the opposite trend. Among diazotroph taxa, the relative abundance of Anabaena, Nostoc, and Rhizobium was higher in FF than in CR. Soil properties such as total potassium, available potassium, pH, and total nitrogen were identified as the main factors influencing AMF and diazotroph diversity. These findings suggest that AMF and diazotroph communities were more sensitive to FF rather than PF and FG after managed vegetation restoration from cropland, despite similar levels of soil nutrients among PF, FG, and FF. Consequently, the integration of diverse economic tree species and forage grasses in mixed plantations notably altered the diversity and species composition of AMF and diazotrophs, primarily through the promotion of biocrust formation and root establishment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity and Biotechnology of Soil Fungi and Rhizosphere Fungi)
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