Restructuring community theory: below-ground ecosystems as "black boxes" in ecology

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26711026
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Toju Hirokazu 京都大学, 生態学研究センター, 准教授 (60585024)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 生態系 / 生物間相互作用 / ネットワーク / 共生 / 群集 / 土壌 / 真菌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Plant and fungal communities are tightly linked with each other, forming complex webs of symbioses belowground. As feedbacks between plant and fungal community dynamics determine the productivity and stability of both natural and agricultural ecosystems, integrating the knowledge of ecological and evolutionary processes governing below-ground plant-fungus interactions is of particular importance. In a series of studies uncovering hyper-species-rich plant-fungus networks, we have found that not only mycorrhizal fungi but also various taxonomic groups of pathogenic and endophytic fungi form complex webs of interactions with diverse host plants. Such network data can be used for detecting statistical signs of symbiont-symbiont interactions within plant root systems, highlighting network-hub fungi that potentially organize whole microbiome processes.

Free Research Field

生態学