Manjeet Dhull

Not Extremely Plastic: Testing the Limits of Morphological Plasticity in Fungal Mycelia in Response to Soil Grazers Using image analysis to track the development of fungal networks in the presence of predators, we found that even in modular organisms, plasticity is more nuanced and limited than previously assumed....

Turns out fungi aren’t as plastic as we might think, their responses to grazers are much more species-specific.

Very cool work from the fungal wizard @aguilart.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

✨ It was a pleasure to have @manjeet786.bsky.social from @westsyduhie.bsky.social join our symposium, presenting both a poster and a speed talk. He shared fascinating insights into how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can—and cannot—support sorghum in the fight against charcoal rot.

#ESA2025

Ancient fossil reveals how plants and fungi first developed on land | Natural History Museum A new fossil fungus discovered in Scotland shows evidence of plants and fungi sharing nutrients to survive on land.

A new fossil fungus discovered in Scotland shows evidence of plants and fungi sharing nutrients to survive on land.

The fossil, more than 400 million years old, offers hints about the origin of one of the greatest partnerships in the history of life on Earth.

www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Maximum entropy networks show that plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associations are anti‐nested and modular There is uncertainty in whether there is a common pattern of nestedness and modularity in plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi associations, partly because of limitations arising from the use of ...

Paper just out @newphyt.bsky.social

Ajaz et al.
Maximum entropy networks show that plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associations are anti-nested and modular

w/ Tancredi Caruso

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

a century of glaciers melting 🧪🌐

Fig. 2 Phylogenetically distinct structures produced by the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal mycelium.

✨ Paper spotlight ✨

Mycelial Dynamics in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

(🧵 1/5) Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form vast underground hyphal networks that support plant life.

Mycorrhizae-associated belowground economics mediate microbial life history strategy in temperate forests The co-evolution of plant roots, mycorrhizal fungi, and soil saprotrophic microorganisms shapes underground resource acquisition strategies of plants.…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Overview of key data of the ‘Mycorrhiza’ database.

Research landscape of experiments on #GlobalChange effects on #mycorrhizas

A #Letter by Lehmann et al. 👇

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#LatestIssue #PlantScience

Defining the pre-symbiotic transcriptional landscape of rice roots Plants interact with a plethora of organisms in the rhizosphere, with outcomes that range from detrimental to beneficial. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is the most ubiquitous beneficial plant ...

It's been a busy time in the Paszkowski lab!

First, a pre-print on how rice distinguishes friend (AM fungi)🍄 from foe (pathogens)👾: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

And second, a review on single-cell omic approaches to understand the spatially and temporally complex AM symbiosis 🔬: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

A simple plant–mycorrhizal fungal resource trade co‐evolution model explains mutualism stability, extinction and transitory parasitism via fitness feedback The mutualism between mycorrhizal fungi and plants has persisted for over 400 million years, despite the mutualism paradox predicting that mutualisms should be evolutionarily unstable due to the fit.....

Loyalty and nutrient trade… University of Western Australia researchers show how plants and fungi keep their partnerships alive—even in the face of cheating 🍃 ❤️ 🍄

#Mycorrhiza #Evolution

Ectomycorrhizal fungi being introduced together with their plant hosts on Isla Victoria, Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina, in 1936.

Invasive ectomycorrhizal fungi in South America

📖 buff.ly/ZgIX5IC
#TansleyInsight by @nahpo.bsky.social and @martin-nunez.bsky.social

@uh.edu @WileyPlantSci #PlantSci

Image source: Colección y Archivo Visual Patagónico; Photographer: Antonio Lynch; courtesy of Federico Silin.

Fig. 1 Schematic representation of broad groups of traits measurable across plant organs.

✨ Paper spotlight ✨

(🧵 1/6) The path towards a unified trait space: synthesizing plant functional diversity
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Drought legacy effects on plant growth and plant–soil feedback are mediated by soil microbial communities independently of root exudates and root litter The results show that drought indirectly restricts plant growth, which is not mediated by root exudates or root litter, but through altering microbial biomass and community composition. These finding...

Extremely proud of Eileen Enderle for publishing her second PhD paper in @journalofecology.bsky.social !!

She shows that the impact that drought has on plant-soil feedback is mediated by soil bacterial and fungal communities.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The Fascinating Map of Fungi Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Great to collaborate with @DomainOfScience on this new video, with our scientists inputting on the fascinating map of fungi 🍄🌍 From medicines to forests, fungi are a kingdom of life shaping our world.

Discover just how important they are in 20 minutes 👇

ow.ly/u4fc50X2JRo

Necromass of Diverse Root‐Associated Fungi Suppresses Decomposition of Native Soil Carbon via Impacts of Their Traits We investigated the decomposition of diverse root-associated fungi, their influence on native soil carbon (C) dynamics and the relationship of these processes with fungal traits. Fungal melanin, blac....

Very interesting paper on fungal [necromass] traits and soil organic matter priming

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Ecology (definitely) matters!

Check out this beautiful book that also features our committee member @frewecologist.bsky.social interview!

Part 5 Forgotten species: species that are often overlooked
The pivotal role of mycorrhizal fungi – Dr Adam Frew
👏👏👏

Pleased to share our new article in Cell Host & Microbe, a collaboration with the group of Zhong Wei at NJAU

Common mycorrhizal networks facilitate plant disease resistance by altering rhizosphere microbiome assembly

Free share link: authors.elsevier.com/c/1lnTD6t8JE...

Fig. 4 Relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal biomass from the neutral lipid fatty acid fraction and community-weighted mean host abundance niche optimum of AM fungi.

✨ Paper spotlight ✨

(🧵 1/6) Agricultural disturbance reduces arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity and biomass by excluding specialist species
doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Vahter et al. focus on investigating biomass–diversity relationships in the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal group.

What Everyone Should Know About Fungi by Age 15

2️⃣ > 400 million years ago, mycorrhizal fungi enabled plants to transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments, making life on land possible.

See the top 10 list (buff.ly/77S4PQF ) and follow for new fungal facts.

Fig. 7 (shortened, full legend in paper): Intraspecific variation in key root functional traits involved in P acquisition between low-phosphorus efficiency (LPE) and high-phosphorus efficiency (HPE) genotypes of alfalfa in response to low soil phosphorus (P) availability. The blue upward arrow indicates P uptake from low P soil, while the black downward arrow signifies carbon (C) transport into root functional traits associated with P acquisition. The mean values for each trait are shown. If there are significant differences between LEP and HEP genotypes, the higher values are emphasized in bold and marked with asterisks: *P≤0.05, ***P≤0.001.

🌿 RESEARCH 🌿

Alfalfa genotypes with thick roots, increased exudate concentration, and mycorrhizal colonization under low P environments have high P utilization efficiency, opening up the potential for breeding for P-efficient lines - Fan et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪

Map of unsampled ecosystems for AM fungal eDNA from the GlobalAMFungi database.

Over 70% of Earth's ecoregions have yet to be sampled for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

By analyzing eDNA sample locations, we found most soils are unsampled. Drylands are especially overlooked despite covering almost 1/3 of the Earth's terrestrial land.

academic.oup.com/femsle/artic...

Fluid mechanics within mycorrhizal networks: exploring concepts, traits, and methodologies Mycorrhizal fungi form hyphal networks for water and solute transport between soil and plant roots. Trait-based research on these organisms typically focuses on spores and resource exchange structure...

New paper out today. Fluid mechanics within mycorrhizal networks: exploring concepts, traits, and methodologies

I ask: How do fungal networks move water, nutrients and signals underground?
Why does this matter? See thread ⬇️

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Soil inoculation improves tree seedling growth in substrates containing bitumen, but the effect varies by species and inoculum source Soil inoculation improved tree seedling growth in some substrates containing bitumen, but the effect varied by species and inoculum source. Inoculum from extreme environments, such as the abandoned o...

New paper: ‘Soil inoculation improves tree seedling growth in substrates containing bitumen, but the effect varies by species and inoculum source’ led by James Franklin @jamesfranklin, a past PhD from my group. 🧵
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Microbiome-facilitated plant nutrient acquisition Soil and plant microbiomes significantly impact plant nutrient acquisition. Singh and colleagues review field-related progress and propose a modified eco-evolutionary framework that considers plant an...

Microbiome-facilitated plant nutrient acquisition

in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

New Article: "Arbuscular mycorrhizal association regulates global root–seed coordination" rdcu.be/eBmpX

Global positive correlation between root diameter and seed size, driven by dual roles of arbuscular mycorrhiza in phosphorus uptake and pathogen defence.

Seven years later: native AMF inoculation improves grassland successional stage, floristic quality index, and diversity, while suppressing weeds Native mycorrhizal fungi enhance prairie restoration by boosting native plant diversity, supporting late-successional species, and reducing invasive plants

My new paper is out! 🧪🦠

Seven years later: native AMF inoculation improves grassland restoration successional stage, floristic quality index, and diversity, while suppressing weeds: academic.oup.com/femsle/artic...

Why microbes matter in restoration 🧵

Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation Evolutionary histories of effector proteins secreted by fungal pathogens to mediate plant colonization remain largely elusive. While most functionally characterized effectors modulate plant immunity, ...

📣 NEW PREPRINT 📝

We identified evolutionary origins of many fungal effectors!
We show that fungi secrete lots of antimicrobial proteins, and that some of them were repurposed by plant pathogens for host immune suppression.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

cc @teamthomma.bsky.social

A Causal Inference Framework for Climate Change Attribution in Ecology Accurately attributing ecological shifts to climate change remains a significant challenge. Here, we present an accessible causal inference framework designed for climate change attribution in observ...

Really excited to share our new paper on #causalinference & #climatechange attribution out in #EcologyLetters today!

Are you asking "how much" or "if" climate change has impacted your system, then this paper is for you!

🧪🌏🌐🍁🌺🌱🌿
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Research landscape of experiments on global change effects on mycorrhizas Click on the article title to read more.

Paper just out by Lehmann et al.

Research landscape of experiments on global change effects on mycorrhizas

A systematic mapping of all experiments on this topic...collaboration of several postdocs and BSc students in the lab.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A diverse and distinct microbiome inside living trees - Nature Microbiome analyses of living trees show that a single tree can host approximately one trillion bacteria, with microbial communities distinctly partitioned between heartwood and sapwood and with minim...

One single tree can host up to 1 trillion bacteria on its wood. The hyphosphere microbiome seems to be fundamental for mycorrhizal functioning.

I see things like this and wonder, how some colleagues still doubt about #Holobionts being units of selection?

www.nature.com/articles/s41...