Burns, Caitlin A. (2014) Characterising the functional role of rhizosphere fungi in Miscanthus giganteus bioenergy cropping systems. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The rhizosphere has a rich fungal microbiome, including parasites, commensals and mutualists. An important group in the rhizosphere are assumed to be the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which live in symbiosis with around 80% of plant species. AMF have been shown to increase plant yield, biomass, disease resistance, and shoot P. Plants exchange carbon in the form of sugars for nutrients assimilated by AMF. There is little known about AMF in association with Miscanthus giganteus, a productive bioenergy crop grown in the UK and abroad. Work was carried out to characterise the abundance, organisation, importance, function and stability over space and time of rhizosphere fungi and AMF in M. giganteus roots. Field samples from Lincolnshire were analysed using staining and molecular techniques, including small subunit rRNA gene terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, clone libraries and amplicon pyrosequencing, and meta-transcriptomics. M. giganteus was also grown in a number of pot experiments, with various treatments including fungal inoculations and fungicide application. A number of fungal phyla were found in the roots, particularly Ascomycota, the composition of which shifted over time and exhibited diurnal patterns of activity. Fungi enhanced plant growth by a third, and were functionally active in the roots in the meta-transcriptome. AMF communities were found at much lower relative abundances in roots, and inoculation with AMF did not enhance M. giganteus growth. The work highlights the importance of the whole root mycobiome to plant growth and health, and the relatively small role Glomeromycota play in M. giganteus comparison with other fungi. The work also demonstrated the dynamic nature of fungal activity over hours, months, and years, and the complex interactions the fungal community has with environmental variables.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	Q Science > QK Botany S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Rhizosphere, Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas, Miscanthus
Official Date:	September 2014
Dates:	Date Event September 2014 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Life Sciences
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Bending, Gary D. ; McNamara, Niall ; Gast, Chris van der
Sponsors:	Natural Environment Research Council (Great Britain) ; Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Great Britain)
Extent:	xii, 252 leaves : illustrations, charts
Language:	eng

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