title: Ecological understanding of root-infecting fungi using trait-based approaches.
abstract: Classification schemes have been popular to tame the diversity of root-infecting fungi. However, the usefulness of these schemes is limited to descriptive purposes. We propose that a shift to a multidimensional trait-based approach to disentangle the saprotrophic-symbiotic continuum will provide a better framework to understand fungal evolutionary ecology. Trait information reflecting the separation of root-infecting fungi from free-living soil relatives will help to understand the evolutionary process of symbiosis, the role that species interactions play in maintaining their large diversity in soil and in planta, and their contributions at the ecosystem level. Methodological advances in several areas such as microscopy, plant immunology, and metatranscriptomics represent emerging opportunities to populate trait databases.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie, Plant Ecology, Freie Universität Berlin, D-14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Trigueros
authors.affiliation: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeff R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
authors.forename: Janis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Antonovics
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie, Plant Ecology, Freie Universität Berlin, D-14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: rillig@zedat.fu-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Matthias C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rillig
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D004463:Ecology; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: classification schemes; root-infecting fungi; saprotrophy–symbiosis continuum; trait-based approach