Mycorrhizal potential to protect plants from pathogens and promote productivity
Abstract
Pollinators contribute to the production of three-quarters of crop species globally. Therefore, research that characterizes mechanisms that enhance pollinator populations and pollination services is critical to promoting food security. Soil microbial communities affect plant species in a myriad of ways. Soil microbial activity influence soil health with cascading effects on floral traits such as flower size and number, and nutrient composition of pollen and nectar. These floral traits affect pollinator resources, visitation and nutrition, and thus soil microbial communities indirectly have the potential to alter pollinator health and pollination services. The indirect connection between the soil microbes and plant-pollinator interactions is largely understudied. This project will investigate the connection from the soil microbiome (both beneficial fungi such as mycorrhizal fungi and harmful, pathogenic fungi) to floral traits, pollinator visitation and pollination, through a combination of molecular (i.e. ribosomal RNA sequencing) and biochemical characterization (i.e. high-performance liquid chromatography), greenhouse experiments and common garden observations in the field. Soil microbiome characterization will be completed in year 1 and the greenhouse experiments and common garden observations will begin in year 1 and be completed in year 2. This project will test the hypothesis that beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the soil microbiome improve floral rewards and positively affect pollinators and pollination. Further, it will investigate whether AMF provide a protective function that prevents the detrimental effects of harmful soil-borne fungal pathogens that may decrease plant growth and, hence, the availability of floral rewards for pollinator nutrition. A combination of responses between pollinator and soil health will be explored: the effect of beneficial AMF alone on pollination and the effect of soil-borne pathogenic fungi with or without AMF on pollination. Elucidating the mechanisms by which soil health (e.g. diverse communities of beneficial AMF impacts plant-pollinator interactions will determine what factors support pollinator communities that could translate to increased food security. An expectation is that diverse communities of beneficial AMF will have both direct and indirect benefits on pollinators and soil health that may translate into positive effects on food security and pollinator community composition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 07, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1710231
Entities
People
- Claire Kremen
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Berkeley