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Alina Greslebin

Bio: Alina Greslebin is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Decomposer & Biodiversity. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 1759 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
28 Nov 2014-Science
TL;DR: Diversity of most fungal groups peaked in tropical ecosystems, but ectomycorrhizal fungi and several fungal classes were most diverse in temperate or boreal ecosystems, and manyfungal groups exhibited distinct preferences for specific edaphic conditions (such as pH, calcium, or phosphorus).
Abstract: Fungi play major roles in ecosystem processes, but the determinants of fungal diversity and biogeographic patterns remain poorly understood. Using DNA metabarcoding data from hundreds of globally distributed soil samples, we demonstrate that fungal richness is decoupled from plant diversity. The plant-to-fungus richness ratio declines exponentially toward the poles. Climatic factors, followed by edaphic and spatial variables, constitute the best predictors of fungal richness and community composition at the global scale. Fungi show similar latitudinal diversity gradients to other organisms, with several notable exceptions. These findings advance our understanding of global fungal diversity patterns and permit integration of fungi into a general macroecological framework.

2,346 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
20 Oct 2022-Lilloa
TL;DR: Molecular and morphological methodologies are used to study this new corticioid fungus and describe it as Tomentellopsis rosannae sp.
Abstract: Patagonian collections of the corticioid genus Tomentellopsis have been treated in the past as T. echinospora, a common northern hemisphere species. New collections with DNA sequence data are distinct from the northern hemisphere taxon and must be considered a different species, endemic to the temperate subantarctic forests of Patagonia. We use molecular and morphological methodologies to study this new corticioid fungus and describe it as Tomentellopsis rosannae sp. nov.
Journal ArticleDOI
20 Oct 2022-Lilloa
TL;DR: In this article , the authors investigated the decomposition of Nothofagus pumilio wood by different wood-inhabiting fungal species through in vitro assays and found that white rotters generally showed a higher ability to degrade the sapwood and brown rotters the heartwood.
Abstract: Fungi are the main decomposers of lignocellulose in temperate forests, and are classified as either white- or brown-rot, based on the ability to degrade lignin along with cellulose and hemicellulose. In this work, decomposition of Nothofagus pumilio wood by different wood-inhabiting fungal species was investigated through in vitro assays. Sapwood and heartwood blocks were individually exposed to 11 fungal species; mass loss was determined after 75, 135, and 195 days of exposure, comparatively analyzing the fungal ability to colonize and degrade this lignocellulosic substrate corresponding to both parts of the wood. Transverse section slices of the blocks were cut and separately stained with two types of dyes, Congo red and phloroglucinol, that are specifically associated with cellulose and lignin, respectively. Most of the species showed a different performance in sapwood and heartwood. Rhizochaete brunnea, Aurantiporus albidus and Phanerochaete velutina produced the greatest mass losses in sapwood. The latter two and Laetiporus portentosus produced the highest mass losses in heartwood, whereas Rh. brunnea was among the worst decomposers of this substrate. White rotters generally showed a higher ability to degrade the sapwood and brown rotters the heartwood. The fungal species that produced greater mass losses in heartwood than in sapwood grow on heartwood of living trees. Among white-rot fungi, two modes of action were identified: a) localized degradation, with zones of advanced decay in a less deteriorated matrix, and b) homogeneous degradation, with an even decay. Our results showed that many species have different performances in different substrates, reinforcing the importance of analyzing sapwood and heartwood decomposition separately, usually not done in this kind of studies.

Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Fungi typically live in highly diverse communities composed of multiple ecological guilds, and FUNGuild is a tool that can be used to taxonomically parse fungal OTUs by ecological guild independent of sequencing platform or analysis pipeline.

2,290 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although most soil microorganisms remain undescribed, the field is now poised to identify how to manipulate and manage the soil microbiome to increase soil fertility, improve crop production and improve the understanding of how terrestrial ecosystems will respond to environmental change.
Abstract: Soil microorganisms are clearly a key component of both natural and managed ecosystems. Despite the challenges of surviving in soil, a gram of soil can contain thousands of individual microbial taxa, including viruses and members of all three domains of life. Recent advances in marker gene, genomic and metagenomic analyses have greatly expanded our ability to characterize the soil microbiome and identify the factors that shape soil microbial communities across space and time. However, although most soil microorganisms remain undescribed, we can begin to categorize soil microorganisms on the basis of their ecological strategies. This is an approach that should prove fruitful for leveraging genomic information to predict the functional attributes of individual taxa. The field is now poised to identify how we can manipulate and manage the soil microbiome to increase soil fertility, improve crop production and improve our understanding of how terrestrial ecosystems will respond to environmental change.

1,720 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Large-scale molecular surveys have provided novel insights into the diversity, spatial and temporal dynamics of mycorrhizal fungal communities, and network theory makes it possible to analyze interactions between plant-fungal partners as complex underground multi-species networks.
Abstract: Almost all land plants form symbiotic associations with mycorrhizal fungi. These below-ground fungi play a key role in terrestrial ecosystems as they regulate nutrient and carbon cycles, and influence soil structure and ecosystem multifunctionality. Up to 80% of plant N and P is provided by mycorrhizal fungi and many plant species depend on these symbionts for growth and survival. Estimates suggest that there are c. 50 000 fungal species that form mycorrhizal associations with c. 250 000 plant species. The development of high-throughput molecular tools has helped us to better understand the biology, evolution, and biodiversity of mycorrhizal associations. Nuclear genome assemblies and gene annotations of 33 mycorrhizal fungal species are now available providing fascinating opportunities to deepen our understanding of the mycorrhizal lifestyle, the metabolic capabilities of these plant symbionts, the molecular dialogue between symbionts, and evolutionary adaptations across a range of mycorrhizal associations. Large-scale molecular surveys have provided novel insights into the diversity, spatial and temporal dynamics of mycorrhizal fungal communities. At the ecological level, network theory makes it possible to analyze interactions between plant-fungal partners as complex underground multi-species networks. Our analysis suggests that nestedness, modularity and specificity of mycorrhizal networks vary and depend on mycorrhizal type. Mechanistic models explaining partner choice, resource exchange, and coevolution in mycorrhizal associations have been developed and are being tested. This review ends with major frontiers for further research.

1,223 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The findings provide empirical evidence that any loss in microbial diversity will likely reduce multifunctionality, negatively impacting the provision of services such as climate regulation, soil fertility and food and fibre production by terrestrial ecosystems.
Abstract: Despite the importance of microbial communities for ecosystem services and human welfare, the relationship between microbial diversity and multiple ecosystem functions and services (that is, multifunctionality) at the global scale has yet to be evaluated. Here we use two independent, large-scale databases with contrasting geographic coverage (from 78 global drylands and from 179 locations across Scotland, respectively), and report that soil microbial diversity positively relates to multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems. The direct positive effects of microbial diversity were maintained even when accounting simultaneously for multiple multifunctionality drivers (climate, soil abiotic factors and spatial predictors). Our findings provide empirical evidence that any loss in microbial diversity will likely reduce multifunctionality, negatively impacting the provision of services such as climate regulation, soil fertility and food and fibre production by terrestrial ecosystems.

1,119 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
09 Aug 2018-Nature
TL;DR: It is shown that bacterial, but not fungal, genetic diversity is highest in temperate habitats and that microbial gene composition varies more strongly with environmental variables than with geographic distance, and that the relative contributions of these microorganisms to global nutrient cycling varies spatially.
Abstract: Soils harbour some of the most diverse microbiomes on Earth and are essential for both nutrient cycling and carbon storage. To understand soil functioning, it is necessary to model the global distribution patterns and functional gene repertoires of soil microorganisms, as well as the biotic and environmental associations between the diversity and structure of both bacterial and fungal soil communities1–4. Here we show, by leveraging metagenomics and metabarcoding of global topsoil samples (189 sites, 7,560 subsamples), that bacterial, but not fungal, genetic diversity is highest in temperate habitats and that microbial gene composition varies more strongly with environmental variables than with geographic distance. We demonstrate that fungi and bacteria show global niche differentiation that is associated with contrasting diversity responses to precipitation and soil pH. Furthermore, we provide evidence for strong bacterial–fungal antagonism, inferred from antibiotic-resistance genes, in topsoil and ocean habitats, indicating the substantial role of biotic interactions in shaping microbial communities. Our results suggest that both competition and environmental filtering affect the abundance, composition and encoded gene functions of bacterial and fungal communities, indicating that the relative contributions of these microorganisms to global nutrient cycling varies spatially.

1,108 citations