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Please note that in Spring 2007 Matthias Rillig will move to the Freie Universitaet Berlin in Germany. You can look at the new lab pages for Berlin here. FEABL research is themed around the ecology and biology of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Our focus is generally the fungus or the fungal community and its interactions, rather than the plant, even though these components of the symbiosis are strictly speaking inseparable. We are also increasingly including other fungi and soil biota in our projects.
For more information on selected aspects, please select from the links on the left or check out our publications.
Global Change Biology Research Much of our research has been on the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (see Publications). Global change is a multi-factorial phenomenon, so we are also studying the effects of other factors on the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis, for example ozone, warming, changed availability of water, nitrogen additions, and invasive plant species. Major collaborations include the Jasper Ridge Global Change Project (Dr. Chris Field, Carnegie Institution, Stanford), and the FACE and spring sites in pastures in New Zealand (Dr. Paul C.D. Newton). Matthias spent four months at the latter site in 2002/3.
Ecology of AMF communities and their interactions with other soil biota AMF do not exist in isolation in soils, and AMF communities broadly interact with other organism groups. It is important to understand some of these interactions in order to learn about how AMF function in soil. For AMF community analyses we are using tools of molecular microbial ecology, such as T-RFLPs and sequencing.
Genome analysis of AMF AMF are complex organisms with respect to their genetics. We have been using whole-genome amplification techniques (such as SDA) to answer fundamental questions regarding genome organization of these fungi.
Research on the (molecular) biology and ecology of the protein glomalin Glomalin is a glycoprotein of so far unknown structure, produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. It becomes stabilized in soil and accumulates to amounts of several mg per g of soil. Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) is very highly correlated with soil aggregate water stability. The biological functions of glomalin (in particular the roles in the biology of the fungi) are not very well understood and represent an exciting area of research. In this lab we are trying to learn more about the role of GRSP in the soil, with a focus on natural ecosystems. We are also using artificial experimental systems, such as AM fungal in vitro culture to understand glomalin production.
Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other soil biota in soil aggregation Major support for work on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and GRSP in soil aggregation comes from the NSF-funded project "Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil aggregation" and from a USDA funded project on elucidating the molecular biology of glomalin. In collaboration with Dr. J.N. Klironomos, we are using a comparative approach to elucidate the relative importance of glomalin in soil aggregation, and to assess the importance of diversity of AM fungi in this crucial process. We are also working on other soil biota (mostly bacteria), mostly at the scale of microaggregates.
Succession and mycorrhizal fungi Using the Nyack riparian study system (see here for several pictures) we are following dynamics of arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal fungi through successional time. We are particularly interested in shifts in mycorrhizal types. |
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Send mail to
matthias@mso.umt.edu with
questions or comments about this web site.
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