Temperature and pH define the realised niche space of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

John Davison , Mari Moora (1) , Marina Semchenko (2) , Sakeenah Binte Adenan , Talaat Ahmed , Asem A. Akhmetzhanova , Juha M. Alatalo , Saleh Al-Quraishy , Elena Andriyanova , Sten Anslan (3) , Mohammad Bahram (4) , Amgaa Batbaatar , Charlotte Brown , C. Guillermo Bueno (5) , James Cahill , Juan Jose Cantero , Brenda B. Casper , Mikhail Cherosov (6, 7) , Saida Chideh (8) , Ana P. Coelho , Matthew Coghill , Guillaume Decocq (8) , Sergey Dudov , Ezequiel Chimbioputo Fabiano , Vladimir E. Fedosov (9) , Lauchlan Fraser (10) , Sydney I. Glassman , Aveliina Helm (1) , Hugh A. L. Henry , Bruno Herault (11, 12, 13) , Indrek Hiiesalu , Inga Hiiesalu (14, 15) , Wael N. Hozzein , Petr Kohout , Urmas Koljalg (1) , Kadri Koorem (15) , Lauri Laanisto (16) , Ülo Mander (1) , Ladislav Mucina (17) , Jean-Pierre Munyampundu , Lena Neuenkamp (18) , Ulo Niinemets (16, 19) , Casper Nyamukondiwa (20) , Jane Oja , Vladimir Onipchenko (9) , Meelis Partel (21) , Cherdchai Phosri (22) , Sergei Polme (23) , Kersti Pussa , Argo Ronk , Alessandro Saitta , Olivia Semboli , Siim-Kaarel Sepp , Alexey Seregin , Surya Sudheer , Clara P. Pena-Venegas , Claudia Paz , Tanel Vahter (1) , Martti Vasar (1) , Annelies J. Veraart , Leho Tedersoo (1) , Martin Zobel (1) , Maarja Opik (24)

1 University of Tartu
2 University of Manchester [Manchester]
3 Technische Universität Braunschweig = Technical University of Braunschweig [Braunschweig]
4 SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
5 Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC)
6 Institute for Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone (IBPC)
7 SB RAS - Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
8 EDYSAN - Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés - UMR CNRS 7058
9 MSU - Lomonosov Moscow State University
10 TRU - Thompson Rivers University
11 UPR Forêts et Sociétés - Forêts et Sociétés
12 Cirad-ES - Département Environnements et Sociétés
13 INP-HB - Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny [Yamoussoukro]
14 Dept Biol
15 Dept Bio
16 EMU - Estonian University of Life Sciences
17 Murdoch University
18 UNIBE - Universität Bern / University of Bern
19 Estonian Academy of Sciences
20 BIUST - Botswana International University of Science and Technology
21 Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences [Tartu]
22 Inst Res & Dev, Fac Sci & Technol, Microbiol Programme
23 Dept Bot
24 Institute of Computer Science [University of Tartu, Estonie]

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are a globally distributed group of soil organisms that play critical roles in ecosystem function. However, the ecological niches of individual AM fungal taxa are poorly understood. We collected > 300 soil samples from natural ecosystems worldwide and modelled the realised niches of AM fungal virtual taxa (VT; approximately species-level phylogroups). We found that environmental and spatial variables jointly explained VT distribution worldwide, with temperature and pH being the most important abiotic drivers, and spatial effects generally occurring at local to regional scales. While dispersal limitation could explain some variation in VT distribution, VT relative abundance was almost exclusively driven by environmental variables. Several environmental and spatial effects on VT distribution and relative abundance were correlated with phylogeny, indicating that closely related VT exhibit similar niche optima and widths. Major clades within the Glomeraceae exhibited distinct niche optima, Acaulosporaceae generally had niche optima in low pH and low temperature conditions, and Gigasporaceae generally had niche optima in high precipitation conditions. Identification of the realised niche space occupied by individual and phylogenetic groups of soil microbial taxa provides a basis for building detailed hypotheses about how soil communities respond to gradients and manipulation in ecosystems worldwide.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

John Davison, Mari Moora, Marina Semchenko, Sakeenah Binte Adenan, Talaat Ahmed, et al.. Temperature and pH define the realised niche space of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytologist, 2021, 231 (2), pp.763-776. ⟨10.1111/nph.17240⟩. ⟨hal-03616517⟩