Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Symbiosis to Enhance Plant–Soil Interaction
, Shaista Perveen 1, Khalid H. Alamer 2,*, Muhammad Zia Ul Haq 1,*, Zaiba Rafique 1, Ibtisam M. Alsudays 3, Ashwaq T. Althobaiti 4, Muneera A. Saleh 4, Saddam Hussain 1,* and Houneida Attia 4,5
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The author did a review on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Symbiosis to Improve Plant-Soil Interaction. Their discussion includes erosion control, nutrient leaching, and abiotic stress tolerance. In addition, recent advances in commercial AMF production have been discussed. This review study aligns with the goals of the “Sustainability” journal by MDPI. Some suggestions for improving the manuscript could be included, such as
- As the authors only mentioned the commercial production of AMF, it would be more impactful if the author also included some details on AMF production on a global scale, including Asia-Africa, the Americas and Australia, and the nearby countries. Is the AMF commercially only produced and used only in Europe? Please explore more in section 3. 3. Commercial Production of AMF
- Please include siderophore-in relation to iron-chelating from AMF in the paragraph.
- Please explore more paragraphs related to “halophytes, xerophytes, and hydrophytes.”
- How the interaction of AMF with other soil bacteria or archaea.
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript, "Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Symbiosis to Enhance Plant-Soil Interaction" describes the role of AMF in reducing erosion, nutrient leaching, and tolerance of host plants to abiotic stresses. This paper is well written and organized and within the scope of this Journal. In general, the manuscript needs corrections. There are some comments in attached file, which should be addressed. The authors must improve the paper by taking into account the following issues:
# Some English grammar and spelling corrections must be done throughout the whole paper.
# Define all abbreviations at first mention,
# Line 26, P??
# Line 106 N???
# Add abbreviation of full names at first mention and then use throughout the manuscript,
# Line 75 use AMF instead of AM fungi.
# Lines 64, 94, 96, 122-128, Table 1, P instead of phosphorous
# Line 96 add abbreviation of nitrogen and then use N throughout the manuscript instead of nitrogen
# Line 141 superscript + in K+
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This is a very interesting and well-structured review about AMF and their roles in the symbiotic relationship with the plant. The authors describe the roles of AMF in the acquisition of inorganic nutrients by plants, the reduction of soil erosion, and the enhancement of plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses. Moreover, the authors also referred to some aspects of the commersial production of AMF inoculants. Nevertheless, there are some shortcomings that need to be addressed.
- page 2, lines 47-50: Please be more specific what kind are the nutrients that the fungus takes from the plant (carbon skeletons) vs the inorganic nutrients that the fungus helps the plant to uptake.
- page 2, line 57: There are new classifications enlist AMF to the phylum Glomeromycota. For example Oehl, Fritz et al. “Advances in Glomeromycota taxonomy and classification.” IMA fungus vol. 2,2 (2011): 191-9. (doi:10.5598/imafungus.2011.02.02.10). Please refer to more recent literature.
- page 3, line 92, paragraph heading: Please replace "nutrition aquisition" with "nutrients acquisition"
- page 3, line 99: Please define what "polyP" is.
- page 3, line 101: I would prefer another word instead of infected, which resembles attack by an enemy. Maybe "mycorrhizal plants".
- page 3, line 116: I think that the word "acquisition" is missing after the phrase "it enhances macro and micro-nutrients".
- page 5, line 174, paragraph heading: Please replace "stress" with "stresses"
- page 5, lines 184 and 185: Please replace "hypha" with "hyphae"
- page 5, lines 184-185: Please replace "while in roots" with "while inside the root tissues"
- page 5, line 191: Please replace "spoil" with "soil"
- page 5, line 203: Please define what do you mean with the phrase "and aggregate". Maybe you should rephrase to "and aggregation"?
- page 5, line 208: Instead of "AMF cause the mitigation" maybe it's better to rephrase to "AMF manage to mitigate".
- page 6, line 258: Please replace "portioning" with "allocation".
- page 9, lines 303-304: Please provide some information about the differences in the use of the three terms (biofertilizer, biostimulant and bioprotectant)
- page 11, line 322, paragraph heading: Please replace "3." with "4."
- page 11, lines 336-339: Please rephrase this sentence. I can not understand what do you mean by saying for example "objective qualities" or "flagging course".
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
I am satisfied with the revised manuscript.
The author incorporated my recommendations into the body of the manuscript.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
