Mycorrhizal fungi control phosphorus value in trade symbiosis with host roots when exposed to abrupt ‘crashes’ and ‘booms’ of resource availability

Anouk van't Padje*, Gijsbert D.A. Werner, E. Toby Kiers

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Biological market theory provides a conceptual framework to analyse trade strategies in symbiotic partnerships. A key prediction of biological market theory is that individuals can influence resource value – meaning the amount a partner is willing to pay for it – by mediating where and when it is traded. The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, characterised by roots and fungi trading phosphorus and carbon, shows many features of a biological market. However, it is unknown if or how fungi can control phosphorus value when exposed to abrupt changes in their trade environment. We mimicked an economic ‘crash’, manually severing part of the fungal network (Rhizophagus irregularis) to restrict resource access, and an economic ‘boom’ through phosphorus additions. We quantified trading strategies over a 3-wk period using a recently developed technique that allowed us to tag rock phosphate with fluorescing quantum dots of three different colours. We found that the fungus: compensated for resource loss in the ‘crash’ treatment by transferring phosphorus from alternative pools closer to the host root (Daucus carota); and stored the surplus nutrients in the ‘boom’ treatment until root demand increased. By mediating from where, when and how much phosphorus was transferred to the host, the fungus successfully controlled resource value.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2933-2944
    Number of pages12
    JournalNew Phytologist
    Volume229
    Issue number5
    Early online date30 Oct 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2021

    Funding

    We thank Ronald Noë, Jacintha Ellers, Stuart West, James Weedon, Marc‐André Selosse, and the three anonymous reviewers for their feedback on the manuscript, Matthew Whiteside for methodological developments, and Simon Dupin and the Department of Ecological Science for technical support. This research was supported by European Research Council ERC 335542 (ETK), and the Ammodo Foundation (ETK). GDAW was supported by a Royal Society Newton International Fellowship and a Junior Research Fellowship (Balliol College). The authors declare no competing interests.

    FundersFunder number
    Ammodo Foundation
    ETK
    Royal Society
    European Research CouncilERC 335542
    European Research Council

      Keywords

      • arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
      • biological markets
      • quantum dots
      • symbiosis
      • trading strategies

      Fingerprint

      Dive into the research topics of 'Mycorrhizal fungi control phosphorus value in trade symbiosis with host roots when exposed to abrupt ‘crashes’ and ‘booms’ of resource availability'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

      Cite this