Biotic environment of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inhabit two different, highly contrasting kinds of environment: root cortex and soil. Roots inner volume offers rather stable conditions in terms of physics, chemistry and biology, with rather low diversity of microbes. The other environment, the soil, is one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, inhabited by various kinds of organisms. The soil is extremely variable in many different aspects and across a wide range of scales. In contrast to the interactions of AMF with roots, their interactions with soil and in particular with other soil microbes is less studied and understood. However, recent methodical advances allow slowly gaining insights into complex interactions between different inhabitants of the soil, where AMF appear to play an important role as carbon and nutrient highway between the plants and the soil. Moreover, the complex community of soil biota is involved in transformation of soil organic matter, resulting in production of biologically active substances affecting both the AMF and the root physiology. Understanding all these processes may prove critical for sustainable use of soil as a finite resource to cover various needs of human societies.