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Editorial: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: The Bridge Between Plants, Soils, and Humans
Summary
This editorial synthesizes the diverse functional roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi as biological bridges between plant roots, soils, and human food systems, highlighting their direct effects including enhanced nutrient acquisition, pollutant immobilization, and induced pathogen tolerance. The piece frames AM symbiosis as a key lever for sustainable agriculture, improving crop yield and quality while mediating soil physical and microbial properties across approximately 70% of all plant species.
It is assumed that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is established between the roots/rhizoids of ca 70% of all plant species, including some of the most important crops, and specialized soil fungi The AM fungi provide a direct interconnection between roots and soil as well as between root systems of different plant individuals belonging to the same or different plant species The AM fungi exert several direct (e.g., enhanced nutrient acquisition, pollutant immobilization/detoxification, plant carbon reallocation, induced pathogen tolerance, signal transfer), and indirect (e.g., photosynthesis stimulation, drought tolerance, soil physical, and microbial conditioning) effects on the plants, with possible consequences to yield and agricultural product quality, multitrophic interaction networks, and soil quality (Kaschuk et al.,
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