The world population surge during the past decades raises awareness of the food shortages. Food production is dependent on productivity of agricultural soils. However, with the serious emission of industrial and urban waste, the application of chemical pesticide, intensification of agriculture, deforestation and urbanisation, ground soils all over the world have been damaged. Damaged soil not only affects agricultural production, but also causes the loss of biodiversity, damages the habitats of plants, microorganisms and invertebrates, reduces water filtration capacity and decreases nutrient availability and soil ecosystem functioning[1,2]. In the EU, the soil biodiversity of 56% of the European land has been damaged; including 14% being at high risk. Up to 70 % of the European soils are reported as unhealthy[3,4,5]. In order to prevent the loss of biodiversity, improve the security of food and drinking water, a series of EU strategies have been made, including the EU soil strategy for 2030, EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, European Green Deal and A Farm to Fork Strategy[6]. Those strategies have all emphasised the importance of healthy soil to the world biodiversity, food security and climate regulation. Directive 2010/75/EU has detailed rules for production and processing of metals (Annex1), processing industrial waste (Article 53) and the disposal of waste to waterbodies (Article 67).
Mycorrhizas are symbiotic associations occurring between the roots of most the world’s plant species and symbiotic fungi. These fungi play important roles in plant growth, plant diversity and ecosystem functioning. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF in the text below) are the most common mycorrhiza-forming fungi and naturally occurs in more than 70% of plant species[7]. The symbiosis was first described in the 1890s. Since then, AMF have been shown to promote plant growth, and improve nutrient uptake[8]. For example, different AMF species were reported to promote growth and yields of crop species by up to 300%, depending on plant species, and significantly promote nutrient (P and N) uptake[9-10]. The AMF are also known to promote plant survival, water uptake[11] and growth in high-stress environments.
AMF are considered as excellent and environmentally friendly tools for promoting plant yield and for soil restoration and revegetation.
Until now, some AMF inocula are produced commercially to enhance plant growth in agriculture. However, no AMF inocula is currently available that ensures high efficacy in harsh environments. The overall objectives of MYTUNETOOL (Mycorrhizal fungi TUNEd TOOL for adaptation to harsh environment) are to adapt mycorrhizal fungi to unhealthy environment for soil remediation and ecological restoration, understanding the mechanisms of the adaptation or acclimation process of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to a given environment using molecular genetics tools. The final stage will be to develop a mass production system for the adapted mycorrhizal fungi.
- Wagg, C, Bender, S. F, Widmer, F, van der Heijden, M. G. A. (2014). PNAS, 111(14).
- FAO, GSBI, SCBD, EC, 2020. The State of Food and Agriculture 2021: Making Agrifood Systems More Resilient to Shocks and Stresses. Report 2021. FAO, Rome.
- Zhao, H, Wu, Y, Lan, X, Yang, Y, Wu, X, Du, L. (2022). Scientific Reports, 12(1).
- Interreg Europe website: interregeurope.eu/news-and-events/news/eu-launches-new-soil-strategy-for-2030.
- Köninger J, Panagos P, Jones A, Briones MJI, Orgiazzi A. Biological Conservation. 2022;268.
- EUR-Lex: EU law website https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html
- van der Heijden MGA, Martin FM, Selosse MA, Sanders IR. (2015). New Phytologist.
- Smith S, Read D. Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. 3rd ed. Elsevier; 2008.
- Affokpon A, Coyne DL, Lawouin L, Tossou C, Agbèdè RD, Coosemans J. (2011). Biology and Fertility of Soils.
- Charron G, Furlan V, Bernier-Cardou M, Doyon G. (2001). Mycorrhiza.
- Kakouridi A, Hagen J, Kan M, Mambelli S, Feldman L, Herman D, Weber P, Pett-Ridge J, Firestone M. (2022). New Phytologist.