Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Physio-Biochemical Mechanisms of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Enhancing Plant Resistance to Abiotic Stress

This review explores how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, beneficial soil organisms that form partnerships with plant roots, help crops cope with environmental stresses like drought, salinity, and heavy metal contamination. The fungi improve nutrient uptake, water absorption, and antioxidant defenses while triggering beneficial hormonal responses in host plants. The authors note that wider agricultural use of these fungi is limited by challenges in mass production and variability across different crops and soil conditions.

2024 Agriculture 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Advantageous Impact on Sustainable Agroecosystems and Bridge between Plants, Soils, and Humans Health

This review discusses how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance sustainable agroecosystems by improving plant nutrient uptake, soil structure, and stress tolerance, with implications for reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers and improving food security. The authors explore links between mycorrhizal health, soil microbiome, and human nutrition.

2024 Journal of Life Sciences Research and Reviews
Article Tier 2

The hidden power of secondary metabolites in plant-fungi interactions and sustainable phytoremediation

This review explores how plants and fungi produce secondary metabolites that play important roles in their interactions with each other and can be harnessed for cleaning up contaminated environments. Researchers examined how fungal compounds help plants tolerate pollutants like heavy metals and microplastics in soil. The findings suggest that leveraging plant-fungi partnerships could offer sustainable, nature-based approaches to environmental remediation.

2022 Frontiers in Plant Science 121 citations
Commentary Tier 3

Editorial: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: The Bridge Between Plants, Soils, and Humans

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.

2022 Frontiers in Plant Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Bidirectional interference between nanoplastics and arsenic in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis: Reciprocal modulation of uptake, transformation and translocation

Researchers used a dual-compartment culture system to show that nanoplastics and arsenic interfere with each other inside arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, where nanoplastics reduce arsenic uptake by fungal hyphae while promoting its conversion to less toxic organic forms, and the fungi in turn internalize and translocate nanoplastics — revealing potential for fungal-based remediation of co-contaminated soils.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular Diversity of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Relation to the Diversity of Neighboring Plant Species

Researchers examined the alpha-diversity, community composition, and co-occurrence patterns of ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Quercus acutissima across pure and mixed forest types to assess the influence of neighboring plant diversity. They found a modest positive correlation between EM fungal diversity and neighboring plant richness, mediated by changes in rhizosphere soil chemistry and bacterial communities, with keystone taxa Tomentella_badia, Tomentella_galzinii, and Sebacina_incrustans showing the strongest associations.

2024 Microorganisms 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The mycorrhizal symbiosis: research frontiers in genomics, ecology, and agricultural application

This review covers the latest advances in understanding mycorrhizal fungi, which form partnerships with plant roots to help them absorb nutrients and resist stress. While not directly about microplastics, mycorrhizal networks play a critical role in soil health, and research shows that microplastic contamination in soil can disrupt these beneficial fungal partnerships. Healthy mycorrhizal networks may also help buffer plants against some negative effects of soil pollutants, including microplastics.

2024 New Phytologist 187 citations
Article Tier 2

Symbiosis—A Perspective on the Effects of Host Traits and Environmental Parameters in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Richness, Colonization and Ecological Functions

This review examines how host plant traits and environmental conditions regulate the richness, diversity, and ecological functions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The study highlights how these beneficial soil fungi contribute to sustainable agriculture through improved nutrient uptake, disease control, and stress tolerance, while noting that their effectiveness depends on multiple interacting factors.

2023 Agriculture 12 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Unraveling the Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Plant Growth, Nutrient Content, and Heavy Metal Accumulation in the Contaminated Soil: A Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 33 studies found that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi significantly increase heavy metal accumulation in plant roots while reducing it in above-ground tissues, effectively acting as a biofilter. AMF-inoculated plants showed enhanced growth, biomass, and nutrient uptake on polluted land, suggesting a practical bioremediation strategy for contaminated soils.

2024 Applied Environmental Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Mycorrhizas for a sustainable world

This review synthesizes findings from the 10th International Conference on Mycorrhiza, covering how mycorrhizal fungal associations — present in over 80% of plant species — influence nutrient cycling, ecosystem resilience, and sustainability across scales from individual plants to global ecosystems. The paper highlights research priorities including mycorrhiza-based strategies for sustainable agriculture and restoration.

2020 New Phytologist 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Mycorrhizal and Endophytic Fungi as a Tool for Sustainable Environments

This review examines the roles of mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi in promoting plant health and environmental sustainability, focusing on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, dark septate endophytes, and other endophytic types that interact with vascular plant roots. The authors assessed the potential of these fungal partnerships as tools for sustainable soil and ecosystem management.

2025 Plants
Article Tier 2

Systems biology-guided understanding of white-rot fungi for biotechnological applications: A review

Researchers reviewed systems biology approaches — methods that look at entire biological networks rather than single genes — applied to white-rot fungi, the only organisms capable of fully breaking down the tough lignin component of plant cell walls. The review highlights these fungi's potential for biotechnological applications including plastic and pollutant degradation, while noting that their internal cellular metabolism remains poorly understood.

2022 iScience 94 citations
Article Tier 2

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Can Inhibit the Allocation of Microplastics from Crop Roots to Aboveground Edible Parts

Scientists discovered that beneficial soil fungi called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can reduce the amount of microplastics that travel from plant roots into the edible parts of lettuce. Plants grown with these fungi transported significantly fewer plastic particles to their leaves compared to plants without them. The findings suggest that natural fungal partnerships in soil could serve as a biological barrier helping protect food crops from microplastic contamination.

2023 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic-fungal interaction across different laboratory scales: Implications for transport in subsurface environments

This study examined how nanoplastics interact with fungi across different laboratory scales, focusing on the implications for how nanoplastics move through subsurface (underground) environments. Understanding fungal transport of nanoplastics is important because soil fungi form vast networks that could either trap or spread plastic particles through the ground and into groundwater.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi attenuate negative impact of drought on soil functions

A meta-analysis combined with greenhouse experiments demonstrated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote soil aggregation, microbial biomass, and nutrient-cycling enzyme activity, effectively buffering soil functions against drought. This protective effect is relevant to microplastic concerns because soil health is increasingly threatened by plastic pollution, and understanding natural soil defense mechanisms is important for protecting agricultural ecosystems.

2024 Global Change Biology 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic-fungal interaction across different laboratory scales: Implications for transport in subsurface environments

This study examined how nanoplastics interact with fungi across different laboratory scales, focusing on the implications for how nanoplastics move through subsurface (underground) environments. Understanding fungal transport of nanoplastics is important because soil fungi form vast networks that could either trap or spread plastic particles through the ground and into groundwater.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Fungal network composition and stability in two soils impacted by trifluralin

This study examined how the herbicide trifluralin affects the composition and stability of soil fungal networks in two agricultural soils. Healthy soil fungal communities are important for decomposing organic matter, and their disruption by agrochemicals can interact with the effects of microplastic contamination on soil health.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential Effects of Microplastic on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

This review examines how microplastics in soil affect arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, finding evidence that microplastics can alter fungal colonization of plant roots, spore production, and the broader soil microbiome, with cascading effects on plant nutrient uptake.

2021 Frontiers in Plant Science 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Nurturing with Nature: The Efficacy of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Microbe for Cocoa Sector Environmental Management in Ghana

Researchers tested the efficacy of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation for improving plant establishment and soil health in revegetation of degraded land, finding that mycorrhizal treatments increased plant biomass, root development, and soil nutrient cycling compared to uninoculated controls. The study supports the use of mycorrhizal bioinoculants as a nature-based tool for ecological restoration.

2024 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Agricultural mulching and fungicides—impacts on fungal biomass, mycotoxin occurrence, and soil organic matter decomposition

Researchers studied how plastic mulch and straw soil coverings affect the fate of fungicides applied to crops, finding that plastic mulch reduced fungicide entry into soil and altered soil fungal communities. The study highlights how plastic agricultural practices create complex interactions with other chemicals, including effects on microorganisms important for soil health.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic Reduction of Arsenic Uptake and Alleviation of Leaf Arsenic Toxicity in Maize (Zea mays L.) by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and Exogenous Iron through Antioxidant Activity

Researchers studied whether combining a beneficial soil fungus (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) with iron supplements could help protect corn plants from arsenic contamination in soil. They found that using both together significantly reduced arsenic uptake in the plants while boosting growth, phosphorus absorption, and antioxidant defenses in the leaves. The study suggests that this combined biological and mineral approach could help make crops safer to grow in arsenic-contaminated farmland.

2023 Journal of Fungi 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics could be a threat to plants in terrestrial systems directly or indirectly

This review synthesized evidence on how microplastics threaten terrestrial plants both directly — through seed pore blockage, root uptake, and accumulation in tissues — and indirectly — by disrupting mycorrhizal fungi and earthworms that support plant nutrition and soil structure.

2020 Environmental Pollution 434 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic types and shapes on the community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in different soil types

Researchers examined how different types and shapes of microplastics affect arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities across various soil types. The study found that microplastics alter soil structure and chemistry in ways that disrupt these beneficial fungi, which play crucial roles in nutrient exchange, soil stability, and water movement.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar mitigates allelopathy through regulating allelochemical generation from plants and accumulation in soil

This review examined how biochar, a low-cost soil amendment, can help mitigate the harmful effects of allelochemicals that accumulate in farmland soil from plant roots and decomposing residues. Researchers found that biochar can sorb and degrade allelochemicals while also improving plant growth conditions to reduce their generation. The study suggests that targeted biochar production and modification could help overcome obstacles to agricultural productivity caused by allelopathy.

2022 Carbon Research 41 citations