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A critical review of the use of lipid signature molecules for the quantification of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi

Olsson, Pål Axel LU and Lekberg, Ylva (2022) In Soil Biology and Biochemistry 166.
Abstract

Tools for accurate measurements of microbial biomass/abundance are imperative in soil ecology. This perspective was prompted by a lack of consistency in how the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 are used to estimate arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal abundance, which we argue can lead to erroneous conclusions within studies and complicate among-study comparisons. We show that more than half of all studies published to date use PLFA 16:1ω5 to quantify AM fungal biomass without proper controls. This is problematic because AM fungi cannot be separated from the bacterial contribution to this fatty acid signature. We provide a set of recommendations for future research and specifically urge researchers... (More)

Tools for accurate measurements of microbial biomass/abundance are imperative in soil ecology. This perspective was prompted by a lack of consistency in how the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 are used to estimate arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal abundance, which we argue can lead to erroneous conclusions within studies and complicate among-study comparisons. We show that more than half of all studies published to date use PLFA 16:1ω5 to quantify AM fungal biomass without proper controls. This is problematic because AM fungi cannot be separated from the bacterial contribution to this fatty acid signature. We provide a set of recommendations for future research and specifically urge researchers to extract and analyze NLFA 16:1ω5 for more accurate and sensitive assessments of AM fungal biomass as this can be done without doubling effort.

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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
16:1ω5, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass, Neutral lipid fatty acid, Phospholipid fatty acid
in
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
volume
166
article number
108574
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123868665
ISSN
0038-0717
DOI
10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108574
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
id
fc549e2c-17fa-4eeb-bff9-b0b1e22783b5
date added to LUP
2022-02-15 17:07:10
date last changed
2023-05-10 11:17:19
@article{fc549e2c-17fa-4eeb-bff9-b0b1e22783b5,
  abstract     = {{<p>Tools for accurate measurements of microbial biomass/abundance are imperative in soil ecology. This perspective was prompted by a lack of consistency in how the neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) 16:1ω5 are used to estimate arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal abundance, which we argue can lead to erroneous conclusions within studies and complicate among-study comparisons. We show that more than half of all studies published to date use PLFA 16:1ω5 to quantify AM fungal biomass without proper controls. This is problematic because AM fungi cannot be separated from the bacterial contribution to this fatty acid signature. We provide a set of recommendations for future research and specifically urge researchers to extract and analyze NLFA 16:1ω5 for more accurate and sensitive assessments of AM fungal biomass as this can be done without doubling effort.</p>}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Pål Axel and Lekberg, Ylva}},
  issn         = {{0038-0717}},
  keywords     = {{16:1ω5; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal biomass; Neutral lipid fatty acid; Phospholipid fatty acid}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Soil Biology and Biochemistry}},
  title        = {{A critical review of the use of lipid signature molecules for the quantification of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108574}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108574}},
  volume       = {{166}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}