Dataset Information

MycoDB, a global database of plant response to mycorrhizal fungi.

ABSTRACT: Plants form belowground associations with mycorrhizal fungi in one of the most common symbioses on Earth. However, few large-scale generalizations exist for the structure and function of mycorrhizal symbioses, as the nature of this relationship varies from mutualistic to parasitic and is largely context-dependent. We announce the public release of MycoDB, a database of 4,010 studies (from 438 unique publications) to aid in multi-factor meta-analyses elucidating the ecological and evolutionary context in which mycorrhizal fungi alter plant productivity. Over 10 years with nearly 80 collaborators, we compiled data on the response of plant biomass to mycorrhizal fungal inoculation, including meta-analysis metrics and 24 additional explanatory variables that describe the biotic and abiotic context of each study. We also include phylogenetic trees for all plants and fungi in the database. To our knowledge, MycoDB is the largest ecological meta-analysis database. We aim to share these data to highlight significant gaps in mycorrhizal research and encourage synthesis to explore the ecological and evolutionary generalities that govern mycorrhizal functioning in ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Chaudhary VB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4862322 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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MycoDB, a global database of plant response to mycorrhizal fungi.

Chaudhary V Bala VB Rúa Megan A MA Antoninka Anita A Bever James D JD Cannon Jeffery J Craig Ashley A Duchicela Jessica J Frame Alicia A Gardes Monique M Gehring Catherine C Ha Michelle M Hart Miranda M Hopkins Jacob J Ji Baoming B Johnson Nancy Collins NC Kaonongbua Wittaya W Karst Justine J Koide Roger T RT Lamit Louis J LJ Meadow James J Milligan Brook G BG Moore John C JC Pendergast Thomas H TH Piculell Bridget B Ramsby Blake B Simard Suzanne S Shrestha Shubha S Umbanhowar James J Viechtbauer Wolfgang W Walters Lawrence L Wilson Gail W T GW Zee Peter C PC Hoeksema Jason D JD

Scientific data 20160510

Plants form belowground associations with mycorrhizal fungi in one of the most common symbioses on Earth. However, few large-scale generalizations exist for the structure and function of mycorrhizal symbioses, as the nature of this relationship varies from mutualistic to parasitic and is largely context-dependent. We announce the public release of MycoDB, a database of 4,010 studies (from 438 unique publications) to aid in multi-factor meta-analyses elucidating the ecological and evolutionary co ...[more]

PMID: 27163938

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Project description:Background and aimsPlant biomass-density relationships during self-thinning are determined mainly by allometry. Both allometry and biomass-density relationship have been shown to vary with abiotic conditions, but the effects of biotic interactions have not been investigated. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can promote plant growth and affect plant form. Here experiments were carried out to test whether AMF affect plant allometry and the self-thinning trajectory.MethodsTwo experiments were conducted on Medicago sativa L., a leguminous species known to be highly dependent on mycorrhiza. Two mycorrhizal levels were obtained by applying benomyl (low AMF) or not (high AMF). Experiment 1 investigated the effects of AMF on plant growth in the absence of competition. Experiment 2 was a factorial design with two mycorrhizal levels and two plant densities (6000 and 17 500 seeds m(-2)). Shoot biomass, root biomass and canopy radius were measured 30, 60, 90 and 120 d after sowing. The allometric relationships among these aspects of size were estimated by standardized major axis regression on log-transformed data.Key resultsShoot biomass in the absence of competition was lower under low AMF treatment. In self-thinning populations, the slope of the log (mean shoot biomass) vs. log density relationship was significantly steeper for the high AMF treatment (slope = -1·480) than for the low AMF treatment (-1·133). The canopy radius-biomass allometric exponents were not significantly affected by AMF level, but the root-shoot allometric exponent was higher in the low AMF treatment. With a high level of AMF, the biomass-density exponent can be predicted from the above-ground allometric model of self-thinning, while this was not the case when AMF were reduced by fungicide.ConclusionsAMF affected the importance of below-ground relative to above-ground interactions and changed root vs. shoot allocation. This changed allometric allocation of biomass and altered the self-thinning trajectory.

Dataset Information

MycoDB, a global database of plant response to mycorrhizal fungi.

Publications

MycoDB, a global database of plant response to mycorrhizal fungi.

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