2018 article
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Their Responses to Nutrient Enrichment
ROOT BIOLOGY, Vol. 52, pp. 429–449.
The roots of most land plants form mycorrhizal associations with soil fungi, in which plants trade carbon for increased nutrient acquisition (e.g., N and P) under nutrient deficiency conditions. However, how nutrient enrichment affects mycorrhiza is still not well understood, in particular under future global changing scenarios such as nitrogen deposition. In this chapter, we first review the major pathways of mycorrhizal-mediated nutrient acquisition and molecular mechanisms of sensing nutrient availability for mycorrhizal fungi and roots. Next, we propose two conceptual models that may control plant C allocation to mycorrhizal fungi in response to nutrient enrichment: reciprocal reward model and root-mycorrhiza trade-off model. We also describe a plant-centric model and fungal-centric model to explain responses of the mycorrhizal fungal community to nutrient enrichment as well as examine impacts of nutrient inputs on mycorrhizas functioning.