Unselective Transport of Phytopathogenic Fusarium Fungi from Litter and Soil by Ground-Dwelling Arthropods Links Semi-Natural and Agricultural Habitats

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 335
• Main Authors: Heitmann, Nadja, Glemnitz, Michael, Birkhofer, Klaus, Müller, Marina E H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-02-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Arthropoda; Arthropods; Crop diseases; Dispersal; Dispersion; Fungi; Fusarium; Grasses; ground-dwelling arthropods; Habitats; Hypotheses; insect-vector; Litter; mycobiota; Pathogens; phytopathogenic fungi; Plant diseases; Propagules; Seeds; Soil microorganisms; Soils; Spores; Vegetation; Wheat; Germany; insect-vector; ground-dwelling arthropods; mycobiota; Fusarium; wheat; linkage; community; phytopathogenic fungi
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020335

The dispersal of propagules, such as fungal spores or seeds by actively moving animals, connects and shapes communities. The dispersal of plant pathogens by arthropods might be a crucial mechanism in the spread of several crop diseases. Ground-dwelling arthropods are potential linkers between fungal communities in semi-natural and agricultural habitats by transporting propagules of
fungi. We compared the
communities on the body surface of ground-dwelling arthropods with litter in semi-natural and soil in agricultural habitats with a focus on the
community. We found three relatively distinct
communities with moderate overlap. We detected a higher richness of
species on the body surface of arthropods compared to litter and soil communities. The results suggest that the
community on the body surface of arthropods relates to the composition observed in litter and soil with limited filtering mechanisms between communities. Ground-dwelling arthropods are relevant agents for the distribution of
and therefore link fungal communities in adjacent habitats.