Summary
This microcosm-based study challenges the traditional two-partner plant-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal model by demonstrating that AM fungi actively recruit and maintain associations with specific soil bacteria. The authors isolated and characterised Devosia sp. ZB163, a hyphal-associated bacterium that synergistically enhances plant growth, nitrogen acquisition, and mycorrhization success. The findings suggest that understanding bacterial recruitment within mycorrhizal associations could inform strategies to optimise nutrient cycling and plant performance in agricultural soil systems.
UK applicability
The mechanistic insights into tripartite microbiome assembly may inform UK soil management and regenerative agriculture practices, particularly where AM fungal establishment and nitrogen cycling are constrained. However, applicability depends on the soil types and plant species studied, which are not specified in the abstract; UK-specific field validation would be needed to translate laboratory findings into practical farming recommendations.
Key measures
Plant growth metrics, nitrogen uptake, mycorrhization rates, bacterial enrichment on AM hyphae, bacterial isolate characterisation
Outcomes reported
The study identified and isolated Devosia sp. ZB163, a bacterium consistently enriched on arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphae, and demonstrated its synergistic effects on plant growth, nitrogen uptake, and mycorrhization when co-colonising plant roots with AM fungi. Plant and mycorrhizal microbiomes were shown to selectively assemble from surrounding soil, with specific bacterial genera preferentially enriched on AM hyphae.
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