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Agriculture
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The Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Regulating Crops Growth and...
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The Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Regulating Crops Growth and Improving Soil Fertility

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2025) | Viewed by 3439

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Qiang-Sheng Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Interests: arbuscular mycorrhiza; citrus; drought stress; glomalin; polyamines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yuejun He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forestry College, Research Center of Forest Ecology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Interests: mycorrhiza; plant functional traits; adaptive strategies; restoration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mycorrhizal fungi are a group of beneficial soil fungi, widely distributed in various ecosystems, which can colonize the roots of 72% of terrestrial plants and establish a reciprocal symbiosis, thus creating an organism between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. With the deepening of research regarding mycorrhizal fungi, their plant-related functions have been uncovered, such as improving plant growth, fruit quality, nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance, and so on. However, when compared with the mycorrhizal roles in plant physiological studies, mycorrhizal research concerning soil fertility is relatively undeveloped, being more centered on potting conditions, making its application to field crops seem slow. In spite of this, mycorrhizal fungi, as an important way of sustainable agricultural production, remain a promising friendly fungal biostimulant. This has also attracted research in the field of crops, especially corn, rice, soybean, and horticultural plants.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to illuminate the intrinsic mechanisms of mycorrhizal fungi in regulating crop growth, and also to predict and clarify the mechanisms by which mycorrhizal fungi improve soil fertility in crops. This Special Issue welcomes all types of articles, especially constructive reviews, commentaries, and field studies.

Prof. Dr. Qiang-Sheng Wu
Prof. Dr. Yuejun He
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mycorrhiza
  • endophyte
  • symbiosis
  • glomalin
  • rhizosphere
  • sustainable agriculture

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 26067 KiB  
Article
Establishing Monoxenic Culture of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Glomus sp. Through In Vitro Root Organ Culture and Swietenia macrophylla King In Vitro Cultures
by Romero-Ceciliano Marysol, Andrade-Torres Antonio, Artavia-Salazar Evelyn and Solís-Ramos Laura Yesenia
Agriculture 2025, 15(7), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15070673 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1274
Abstract
In vitro cultivation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is challenging due to their biotrophic symbiosis. The principal aim of this study was to demonstrate the effect of establishing in vitro dual cultures of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculated on Swietenia macrophylla (mahogany) roots [...] Read more.
In vitro cultivation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is challenging due to their biotrophic symbiosis. The principal aim of this study was to demonstrate the effect of establishing in vitro dual cultures of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculated on Swietenia macrophylla (mahogany) roots on plant growth. Furthermore, it was sought to demonstrate that plant colonization by Glomeromycota can be achieved with a replicable protocol. This study established monoxenic cultures of carrot (Daucus carota) Ri T-DNA ROC inoculated with Glomus sp. on two-compartment plates. At 75 days, hyphal growth reached 223.93 mm in the root compartment and 103.71 mm in the hyphal compartment. Spores produced in vitro measured 26.14 ± 1.70 µm, smaller than ex vitro spores (101.2 ± 4.22 µm). Rhodotorula mucilaginosa was isolated from cultures and appeared to stimulate hyphal growth and root–fungal contact. From these cultures, a dual culture of mahogany inoculated with Glomus sp. was established. No significant differences were observed between inoculated and non-inoculated plants in stem length, root length, root number, or leaf number at 30 days. Spore production ranged from 10,166 to 27,696 per plate, averaging 14,795 ± 3301, with hyphal lengths of 3655.46 ± 308.75 mm. Hyphal development included running and branching patterns, with solitary and clustered spores. Spore diameter averaged 27.68 ± 3.85 µm. Arbuscular colonization reached 41.49% at 30 days and 52.13% at 75 days, exceeding rates reported for other culture systems. Monoxenic cultures are a reliable, aseptic source of high-quality inoculum, supporting biofertilizer production and biotechnological applications. These methods provide valuable tools for studies involving AMF, such as those demonstrated with mahogany. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Regulating Crops Growth and Improving Soil Fertility)
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14 pages, 3909 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Manuring Enhanced Compositional Stability of Glomalin-Related Soil Proteins through Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Regulation
by Hongbo Yang, Zejiang Cai, Caroline De Clerck, Jeroen Meersmans, Gilles Colinet and Wenju Zhang
Agriculture 2024, 14(9), 1510; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14091510 - 3 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1582
Abstract
Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) play a crucial role in strengthening soil structure and increasing carbon (C) storage. However, the chemical stability of GRSP and related arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community response to fertilization remains unclear. This study investigated C and nitrogen (N) contents, [...] Read more.
Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) play a crucial role in strengthening soil structure and increasing carbon (C) storage. However, the chemical stability of GRSP and related arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community response to fertilization remains unclear. This study investigated C and nitrogen (N) contents, three-dimensional fluorescence characteristics in GRSP, and AMF properties based on a field experiment that was subjected to 29 years of various fertilizations. The experiment included treatments with no fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilizer (NPK), manure (M), and manure combined with NPK (NPKM) treatments. Results showed that GRSP contained 37–49% C and 6–9% N, respectively. Compared with CK and NPK, the C and N proportions in GRSP significantly increased under M and NPKM. Using the parallel factor model, four fluorescent components of GRSP were identified: one fulvic acid-like component (C2), one tyrosine-like component (C4), and two humic acid-like components (C1, C3). Under M and NPKM, the fluorescent intensity of C2 and C4 decreased, while the humification index (HIX) increased relative to CK and NPK, indicating that organic fertilization could enhance the stability of GRSP. The C and N proportion in GRSP positively associated with soil organic C (SOC), total N (TN), available phosphorus (AP), AMF biomass, and diversity, while C2 and C4 showed negative associations. Structural equation modeling further revealed that manure-induced changes in pH, SOC, TN, and AP increased AMF biomass and diversity, thereby altering GRSP composition and stability. This study provides valuable insights into the compositional traits of GRSP, contributing to sustainable soil management and C sequestration in agroecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Regulating Crops Growth and Improving Soil Fertility)
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