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Fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a proxy for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass : current challenges and ways forward

Lekberg, Ylva ; Bååth, Erland LU ; Frostegård, Åsa ; Hammer, Edith LU ; Hedlund, Katarina LU orcid ; Jansa, Jan ; Kaiser, Christina ; Ramsey, Philip W. ; Řezanka, Tomáš and Rousk, Johannes LU , et al. (2022) In Biology and Fertility of Soils 58(8). p.835-842
Abstract

Fatty acid biomarkers have emerged as a useful tool to quantify biomass of various microbial groups. Here we focus on the frequent use of the fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a biomarker for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soils. We highlight some issues with current applications of this method and use several examples from the literature to show that the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 can occur in high concentrations in soils where actively growing AM fungi are absent. Unless the study includes a control where the contribution of other microbes can be estimated, we advocate for the use of the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) 16:1ω5. This biomarker has higher specificity, is more responsive to shifts in AM fungal biomass, and... (More)

Fatty acid biomarkers have emerged as a useful tool to quantify biomass of various microbial groups. Here we focus on the frequent use of the fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a biomarker for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soils. We highlight some issues with current applications of this method and use several examples from the literature to show that the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 can occur in high concentrations in soils where actively growing AM fungi are absent. Unless the study includes a control where the contribution of other microbes can be estimated, we advocate for the use of the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) 16:1ω5. This biomarker has higher specificity, is more responsive to shifts in AM fungal biomass, and quantification can be conducted along with PLFA analysis without doubling analytical efforts. We conclude by contrasting various methods used to measure AM fungal biomass in soil and highlight future research needs to optimize fatty acid analyses.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Biomass, Gram-negative bacteria, NLFA 16:1ω5, PLFA 16:1ω5
in
Biology and Fertility of Soils
volume
58
issue
8
pages
8 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85139224187
ISSN
0178-2762
DOI
10.1007/s00374-022-01670-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
59b59b53-fddc-4b43-bfe9-c4be1f2ef32e
date added to LUP
2022-12-14 12:50:47
date last changed
2024-05-12 13:35:00
@article{59b59b53-fddc-4b43-bfe9-c4be1f2ef32e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Fatty acid biomarkers have emerged as a useful tool to quantify biomass of various microbial groups. Here we focus on the frequent use of the fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a biomarker for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soils. We highlight some issues with current applications of this method and use several examples from the literature to show that the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 can occur in high concentrations in soils where actively growing AM fungi are absent. Unless the study includes a control where the contribution of other microbes can be estimated, we advocate for the use of the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) 16:1ω5. This biomarker has higher specificity, is more responsive to shifts in AM fungal biomass, and quantification can be conducted along with PLFA analysis without doubling analytical efforts. We conclude by contrasting various methods used to measure AM fungal biomass in soil and highlight future research needs to optimize fatty acid analyses.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lekberg, Ylva and Bååth, Erland and Frostegård, Åsa and Hammer, Edith and Hedlund, Katarina and Jansa, Jan and Kaiser, Christina and Ramsey, Philip W. and Řezanka, Tomáš and Rousk, Johannes and Wallander, Håkan and Welc, Monika and Olsson, Pål Axel}},
  issn         = {{0178-2762}},
  keywords     = {{Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Biomass; Gram-negative bacteria; NLFA 16:1ω5; PLFA 16:1ω5}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{835--842}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Biology and Fertility of Soils}},
  title        = {{Fatty acid 16:1ω5 as a proxy for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass : current challenges and ways forward}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00374-022-01670-9}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00374-022-01670-9}},
  volume       = {{58}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}