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Edith Hammer. Photo.

Edith Hammer

Senior lecturer

Edith Hammer. Photo.

Fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a proxy for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass : current challenges and ways forward

Author

  • Ylva Lekberg
  • Erland Bååth
  • Åsa Frostegård
  • Edith Hammer
  • Katarina Hedlund
  • Jan Jansa
  • Christina Kaiser
  • Philip W. Ramsey
  • Tomáš Řezanka
  • Johannes Rousk
  • Håkan Wallander
  • Monika Welc
  • Pål Axel Olsson

Summary, in English

Fatty acid biomarkers have emerged as a useful tool to quantify biomass of various microbial groups. Here we focus on the frequent use of the fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a biomarker for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soils. We highlight some issues with current applications of this method and use several examples from the literature to show that the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 can occur in high concentrations in soils where actively growing AM fungi are absent. Unless the study includes a control where the contribution of other microbes can be estimated, we advocate for the use of the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) 16:1ω5. This biomarker has higher specificity, is more responsive to shifts in AM fungal biomass, and quantification can be conducted along with PLFA analysis without doubling analytical efforts. We conclude by contrasting various methods used to measure AM fungal biomass in soil and highlight future research needs to optimize fatty acid analyses.

Department/s

  • Microbial Ecology
  • MEMEG
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)
  • Soil Ecology
  • Biodiversity
  • Microbial Biogeochemistry in Lund
  • Plant Biology

Publishing year

2022-11

Language

English

Pages

835-842

Publication/Series

Biology and Fertility of Soils

Volume

58

Issue

8

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Ecology

Keywords

  • Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
  • Biomass
  • Gram-negative bacteria
  • NLFA 16:1ω5
  • PLFA 16:1ω5

Status

Published

Research group

  • Microbial Ecology
  • Soil Ecology
  • Microbial Biogeochemistry in Lund
  • Plant Biology

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0178-2762