Fungi Could Manipulate Bacteria to Enrich Soil with Nutrients

AHA Publisher — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 07:00:16 +0000

Boyce Thompson Institute via EurekAlert – ITHACA, NY, April 2, 2021 – A team of researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) has discovered a distinct group of bacteria that may help fungi and plants acquire soil nutrients. The findings could point the way to cost-effective and eco-friendly methods of enriching soil and improving crop yields, reducing farmers’ reliance on conventional fertilizers. Researchers know that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi establish symbiotic relationships with the roots of 70% of all land plants. In this relationship, plants trade fatty acids for the fungi’s nitrogen and phosphorus. However, AM fungi lack the enzymes needed to free nitrogen and phosphorus from complex organic molecules. A trio of BTI scientists led by Maria Harrison, the William H. Crocker Professor at BTI, wondered whether other soil microbes might help the fungi access those nutrients. In a first step towards examining that possibility, the team investigated whether AM fungi associate with a specific community of bacteria. The research was described in a paper published in The ISME Journal on March 1. The team examined bacteria living on the surfaces of long filament-like structures called hyphae, which the fungi extend into the soil far from their host plant. On hyphae from two species of fungi, the team discovered highly similar bacterial communities whose composition was distinct from those in the surrounding soil. “This tells us that, just like the human gut or plant roots, the hyphae of AM fungi have their own unique microbiomes,” said Harrison, who is also an adjunct professor in Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science. “We’re already testing a few interesting predictions as to what these bacteria might do, such as helping with phosphate acquisition.” “If we’re right, then enriching the soil for some of these bacteria could increase crop yields and, ultimately, reduce the need for conventional fertilizers along with their associated costs and environmental impacts,” she added. Her co-researchers on the study were former BTI scientists Bryan Emmett and Véronique Lévesque-Tremblay. Among the Fungi In the study, the team used two species of AM fungi, Glomus versiforme and Rhizophagus irregularis, and grew them in three different types of soil in symbiosis with Brachypodium distachyon, a grass species related to wheat. After letting the fungus grow with the grass for up to 65 days, the researchers used gene sequencing to identify bacteria sticking to the hyphae surfaces. The team found remarkable consistency in the makeup of bacterial communities from the two fungal species. Those communities were similar in all three soil types, but very different from those found in soil away from the filaments. The function of these bacteria is not yet clear, but their composition has already sparked some interesting possibilities, Harrison said. “We predict that some of these bacteria liberate phosphorus ions in the immediate vicinity of the filaments, giving the fungus the best chance to capture those ions,” Harrison said. “Learning which bacteria have this function could be key to enhancing the fungi’s phosphate acquisition process to benefit plants.” Harrison’s group is investigating the factors that control which bacteria assemble on the filaments. Harrison thinks the AM fungi may secrete molecules that attract these bacteria, and in turn, the bacterial communities may influence which molecules the fungus secretes. Highway Patrol Among the hyphae microbiomes were members of Myxococcales and other taxa that include “bacterial predators” that kill and eat other bacteria by causing them to burst and release their contents. These predators move by gliding along surfaces so “the fungal filaments could serve as linear feeding lanes,” said Emmett, who is currently a research microbiologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Ames, Iowa. “Many soil bacteria appear to travel along fungal hyphae in soil, and these predators may make it a more perilous journey.” While not every member of those taxa on the filaments may be predatory, Harrison’s group plans to investigate how and why those putative predators assemble there. “It’s possible that the actions of predatory bacteria make mineral nutrients available to everyone in the surrounding soil – predators and fungi alike,” she said. To read the original article click here.

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Study Identifies Another Reason to Add Mushrooms to American Diet

AHA Publisher — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 08:00:34 +0000

FLM Harvest via News-Medical Net – The second study published in as many months has identified another reason to add more mushrooms to the recommended American diet. The new research, published in Food & Nutrition Research (February 2021), examined the addition of mushrooms to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Patterns resulting in the increase of several micronutrients including shortfall nutrients while having a minimal to zero impact on overall calories, sodium or saturated fat. Dr. Victor L. Fulgoni III and Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal looked at the nutritional effect of substituting a serving of various foods recommended to be moderated in the diet by the 2015-2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines with an 84-gram serving of mushrooms on nutrient profiles in USDA’s Healthy US-style, Mediterranean-style and Vegetarian Eating Patterns. This is a similar approach that the USDA used for determining its Dietary Guidelines. For the mushroom serving, researchers looked at a composite of white, crimini, and portabella mushrooms at a 1:1:1 ratio; one scenario including UV-light exposed mushrooms, and one scenario including oyster mushrooms. “Simply adding an 84-gram serving, or what would be the equivalent of 5 medium white mushrooms, to USDA Food Patterns increased several shortfall nutrients including potassium as well as other B vitamins and minerals and had minimal to no impact on overall calories, sodium or saturated fat,” said Dr. Fulgoni. Depending on the pattern type and calorie level, key findings include: The addition of a serving (84 g) of mushrooms to the diet resulted in an increase in potassium (8%-12%), copper (16%-26%), selenium (11%-23%), riboflavin (12%-18%), and niacin (11%-26%), but had no impact on calories, carbohydrate, fat or sodium. The addition of a serving (84 g) of oyster mushrooms increased vitamin D (8%-11%) and choline (10%-16%) in USDA Food Patterns. Mushrooms exposed to UV-light to increase vitamin D levels to 200 IU/serving also increased vitamin D by 67%-90% in USDA Food Patterns. A composite of white, crimini, and portabella mushrooms at a 1:1:1 ratio would be expected to add 2.24 mg ergothioneine and 3.53 mg glutathione, while oyster mushrooms would provide 24.0 mg ergothioneine and 12.3 mg glutathione. (Note: the USDA Food Patterns, as well as USDA FoodData Central, do not include analytical data on either of these antioxidants at this time). Results Mirror a Similar Modeling Study Drs. Fulgoni and Agarwal also modeled the addition of mushrooms to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2016 dietary data looking at a composite of white, crimini, and portabella mushrooms at a 1:1:1 ratio; one scenario including UV-light exposed mushrooms, and one scenario including oyster mushrooms for both 9-18 years and 19+ years of age based on an 84g or ½ cup equivalent serving. Similar to the USDA Food Patterns, the NHANES data found the addition of a serving (84 g) of mushrooms to the diet resulted in an increase in dietary fiber (5%-6%), copper (24%-32%), phosphorus (6%), potassium (12%-14%), selenium (13%-14%), zinc (5%-6%), riboflavin (13%-15%), niacin (13%-14%), and choline (5%-6%) in both adolescents and adults; but had no impact on calories, carbohydrate, fat or sodium. Looking specifically at vitamin D, the study shows that when commonly consumed mushrooms are exposed to UV-light to provide 5 mcg vitamin D per serving, vitamin D intake could meet and slightly exceed the recommended daily value (98% – 104%) for both the 9 -18 year and 19+ year groups as well as decrease inadequacy of this shortfall nutrient in the population. In addition, a serving of UV-light exposed commonly consumed mushrooms decreased population inadequacy for vitamin D from 95.3% to 52.8% for age group 9-18 years and from 94.9% to 63.6% for age group 19+ years. Mushrooms Role in the Dietary Guidelines Mushrooms are fungi – a member of the third food kingdom – biologically distinct from plant and animal-derived foods that comprise the USDA food patterns yet have a unique nutrient profile that provides nutrients common to both plant and animal foods. Although classified into food grouping systems by their use as a vegetable, mushrooms’ increasing use in main entrees in plant-based diets is growing, supporting consumers’ efforts to follow food-based dietary guidance recommendations to lower intake of calories, saturated fatty acids, and sodium while increasing intake of under-consumed nutrients including fiber, potassium and vitamin D. When considering mushrooms’ role in diet quality and helping consumers achieve healthy eating patterns, a previous analysis of NHANES 2001-2010 data discovered that mushroom intake was associated with higher intakes of several key nutrients and thus better diet quality. However, intake was low – about 21g per day among mushroom consumers. Because of mushrooms’ culinary versatility and unique nutrient profile, greater recognition of mushrooms in dietary guidance is an opportunity to improve diet quality, particularly to increase consumption of vegetables. “Results from this current research on modeling the nutritional impact of mushrooms on USDA healthy eating patterns are now available for consideration by the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee,” said Mary Jo Feeney, MS, RD, FADA and nutrition research coordinator to the Mushroom Council. Mushrooms: A Nutrient Powerhouse Often grouped with vegetables, mushrooms provide many of the nutrient attributes of produce, as well as attributes more commonly found in meat, beans or grains. According to the USDA’s FoodData Central, one serving (5 medium/90g) of white, raw mushrooms contains 20 calories, 0g fat, 3g protein and is very low in sodium (0mg/<1% recommended daily value). Few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and mushrooms are unique in that they are the only food in the produce aisle that contain vitamin D. Specifically, one serving of raw, UV-exposed, white (90g) and crimini (80g) mushrooms contains 23.6mcg (118% RDA) and 25.52mcg (128% RDA) of vitamin D, respectively. More Research from the Mushroom Council Still to Come With mushrooms growing in awareness and consideration among consumers nationwide, in 2019, the Mushroom Council made a $1.5 million multi-year investment in research to help broaden understanding of the food’s nutritional qualities and overall health benefits. In addition to the analysis of mushrooms for bioactive/ergothioneine for inclusion in the USDA FoodData Central database, additional research projects approved include: Health-promoting effects of including mushrooms as part of a healthy eating pattern. Mushrooms’ relationship with cognitive health in older adults. Mushrooms’ impact on brain health in an animal model. Since 2002, the Council has conducted research that supports greater mushroom demand by discovering nutrient and health benefits of mushrooms. Published results from these projects form the basis for communicating these benefits to consumers and health influencers. To read the original article click here.

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Fungi Could Manipulate Bacteria to Enrich Soil with Nutrients

Study Identifies Another Reason to Add Mushrooms to American Diet