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Priming Effects of the Endophytic Fungus Phomopsis liquidambari on Soil Mineral N Transformations

  • Soil Microbiology
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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) is a crucial nutrient for soil biota, and its cycling is determined by the organic carbon decomposing process. Some endophytic fungi are latent saprotrophs that trigger their saprotrophic metabolism to promote litter organic matter cycling as soon as the host tissue senesces or dies. However, the effects of endophytic fungi on litter and soil N dynamics in vitro have rarely been investigated. In this study, we investigated N dynamics (total and mineral N) in both litter and soil in incubations of a pure culture of an endophytic fungus Phomopsis liquidambari with litter and following soil burial of the litter. Soil enzymes and microbial communities participating in the N transformations were also investigated. A pure culture of P. liquidambari released litter NH +4 –N in the initial stages (10 days) of the incubation. However, following soil burial, the presence of both P. liquidambari and soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) resulted in an increase in soil NO −3 –N. These results indicate that the endophytic fungus P. liquidambari in vitro stimulates organic mineralization and promote NH +4 –N release. Such effects triggered soil AOB-driven nitrification process.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC no.30970523, no.31070443), Innovovation Fund for Technology Based Firms of China (no.08C26213200571 ), a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions for their financial support. We also express our great thanks to the reviewers and editorial staff for their time and attention.

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  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center for Industrialization of Microbial Resources, College of Life Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, 210046

    Yan Chen, Cheng-Gang Ren, Bo Yang, Yao Peng & Chuan-Chao Dai

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  1. Yan Chen
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  2. Cheng-Gang Ren
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Chen, Y., Ren, CG., Yang, B. et al. Priming Effects of the Endophytic Fungus Phomopsis liquidambari on Soil Mineral N Transformations. Microb Ecol 65, 161–170 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-012-0093-z

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