Cristiana Sbrana

Italian National Research Council | CNR · Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology IBBA

In intercropping systems, crop species select host-adapted microorganisms and influence the associated plant-microbial interactions like in the case of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Attempts to assess the impact of intercropping on the activity, diversity, and community composition of AMF remain inconclusive, more so in intercropping systems...

In forests, mycorrhizal fungi regulate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics. We evaluated the interplay among ectomycorrhizas (ECM), ecosystem C fluxes, tree productivity, C and N exchange and isotopic fractionation along the soil-ECM-plant continuum in a Mediterranean beech forest. From bud break to leaf shedding, we monitored: net ecosystem excha...

Food production is heavily dependent on soil phosphorus (P), a non-renewable mineral resource essential for plant growth and development. Alas, about 80% is unavailable for plant uptake. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi may promote soil P efficient use, although the mechanistic aspects are yet to be completely understood. In this study, plant and funga...

Purpose Commercial production and the use of liquid vermicompost extract (LVE) is gaining attention as a technique that supports integrated soil-microbial-crop management for sustainable agriculture. However, the interaction effects of LVE, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and host plants on the delivery of agroecosystem services in alkaline soi...

Lettuce is widely used for its healthy properties, and it is of interest to increase them with minimal environmental impact. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Funneliformis mosseae in lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Salinas) cultivated in a soilless system with sub-optimal phosphoru...

The positive impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbionts on plant growth and health has been reported for many species, and supports their use as biofertilizers and bioenhancers. Here, the potential role of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiont Funneliformis mosseae in the improvement of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) nutritional value, in terms of nu...

Positive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)—wheat plant symbiosis have been well discussed by research, while the actual role of the single wheat genotype in establishing this type of association is still poorly investigated. In this work, the genetic diversity of Triticum turgidum wheats was exploited to detect roots susceptibility to A...

The effect of relay intercropping between winter durum wheat sown at 33% and 100% densities and lentils on soil mycorrhizal inoculation potential (MIP), crop yield, and land equivalent ratio (LER) under a low input management system was investigated. Relay intercropping system significantly (p=0.017) influenced soil MIP. A clear trend and a higher...

The concept of food quality, traditionally based on nutritional and sensory properties, has recently acquired an additional meaning, referring to the health-promoting properties of plant products, that are ascribed to plant secondary metabolites called phytochemicals, primarily represented by polyphenolic compounds and glucosinolates. The diversity...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish mutualistic symbioses with the roots of most plant species, playing a key role in crop productivity and ecosystem functioning. The characterization of local AMF genotypes assemblages is a prerequisite for the reproduction, both ex situ and on farm, of efficient native AMF communities, in order to improve...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) live in symbiosis with plant roots, facilitating mineral nutrient transfer from soil to hosts through large networks of extraradical hyphae. Limited data are available on the fungal structures (appressoria) connecting soil- to root-based mycelium, in relation to plant nutrition. Two in vivo systems were set up usi...

Mycorrhizal networks facilitate the colonization of legume roots by a symbiotic 5 nitrogen-fixing bacterium 6 7 Abstract 18 Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) absorb and translocate nutrients from soil to their host 19 plants by means of a wide network of extraradical mycelium (ERM). Here, we assessed whether 20 nitrogen fixing rhizobia can be tran...

To investigate the short-term effects of liquid vermicompost on soil mycorrhizal inoculum potential (MIP) and plant-mycobiome interactions, a field trial was carried out at CiRAA E. Avanzi, San Piero a Grado, Pisa, Italy. The bacterial 16S and fungal ITS sequence analyses showed a high bacteria, fungal abundance and taxonomic alpha diversity presen...

An in vivo whole-plant bi-dimensional experimental system has been devised and tested with different host plants, in order to obtain extraradical mycelium (ERM) produced by different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In this system, a host plant germling is inoculated with AMF to establish mycorrhizal symbiosis, and, after colonization, newly for...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) absorb and translocate nutrients from soil to their host plants by means of a wide network of extraradical mycelium (ERM). Here, we assessed whether nitrogen-fixing rhizobia can be transferred to the host legume Glycine max by ERM produced by Glomus formosanum isolate CNPAB020 colonizing the grass Urochloa decumbe...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a fundamental role in plant growth and nutrition in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Despite the importance of such symbionts, the different developmental changes occurring during the AMF life cycle have not been fully elucidated at the molecular level. Here, the RNA-seq approach was used to investigate R...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are a key group of beneficial obligate biotrophs, establishing a mutualistic symbiosis with the roots of most land plants. The molecular markers generally used for their characterization are mainly based on informative regions of nuclear rDNA (SSU-ITS-LSU), although protein-encoding genes have also been proposed....

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial soil microorganisms establishing mutualistic symbioses with the roots of the most important food crops and playing key roles in the maintenance of long-term soil fertility and health. The great inter- and intra-specific AMF diversity can be fully exploited by selecting AMF inocula on the basis of th...

The extraradical mycelium (ERM) produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is fundamental for the maintenance of biological fertility in agricultural soils, representing an important inoculum source, together with spores and mycorrhizal root fragments. Its viability and structural traits, such as density, extent and interconnectedness, which are posi...

Retrotransposon expression during arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonisation of sunflower roots (Helianthus annuus) was analysed using Illumina RNA-Seq, in order to verify whether mycorrhizal symbiosis can activate retrotransposable elements. Illumina cDNA libraries were produced from RNAs isolated from the roots of sunflower plants at 4 and 1...

Expression values of four house-keeping genes of sunflower roots during arbuscular mycorrhizal infection colonization. (DOC)

Relationship between expression and average coverage of each of the 46 RT sequences expressed in mycorrhizal roots at 16 d after inoculation. (DOC)

tesi di fi tochimici benefi ci per la salute umana, come microelementi, vitamine, composti ad azione antiossidante, con-tribuendo così alla produzione di cibo di alta qualità. Esaminate 100 varietà di frumento La suscettibilità delle piante alla co-lonizzazione micorrizica dipende, ol-tre che dalle variabili ambientali come la fertilità, la tempera...

The new paradigm in agriculture, sustainable intensification, is focusing back onto beneficial soil microorganisms, for the role played in reducing the input of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and improving plant nutrition and health. Worldwide, more and more attention is deserved to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which establish symbioses...

In this work we investigated the variability and the genetic basis of susceptibility to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization of wheat roots. The mycorrhizal status of wild, domesticated and cultivated tetraploid wheat accessions, inoculated with the AM species Funneliformis mosseae, was evaluated. In addition, to detect genetic markers in linka...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate symbionts, living in associations with the roots of most land plants. AMF produce wide networks of extraradical mycelium (ERM) of indeterminate length, spreading from host roots into the surrounding soil and establishing belowground interconnections among plants belonging to the same or to different t...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are widespread, important plant symbionts. They absorb and translocate mineral nutrients from the soil to host plants through an extensive extraradical mycelium, consisting of indefinitely large networks of nonseptate, multinucleated hyphae which may be interconnected by hyphal fusions (anastomoses). This work inv...

O livro “Técnicas Básicas em Micorrizas Arbusculares” é um manual de métodos que certamente irá estar presente nas bancadas de laboratórios que pesquisam essa associação simbiótica. As micorrizas arbusculares são encontradas nas raízes da maioria das plantas dos ecossistemas terrestres. Esta simbiose tem um papel primordial na absorção de nutriente...

Intact whole native AMF communities occurring across a 100-m-long field were used for the evaluation of plant performance, as determined by the actual fungal species colonizing host roots. The soil from distinct plots within a “hot spot” field was collected to set up 54 experimental units where three different plant species were grown, in order to...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are essential elements of soil fertility, plant nutrition and productivity, facilitating soil mineral nutrient uptake. Helianthus annuus is a non-model, widely cultivated species. Here we used an RNA-seq approach for evaluating gene expression variation at early and late stages of mycorrhizal establishment in sunfl...

Bee pollen is gaining attention as functional food for human consumption. However, scanty information is available on the effects of post-harvest conditioning methods on microbial populations associated to bee pollen. Here, we assessed the microbiological quality and safety of bee-collected chestnut and willow pollen processed by different treatmen...

In recent years significant advances in the exploitation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (AMF) in agriculture have been realized. AMF establish mutualistic symbioses with most land plants and are fundamental for plant nutrition and health, playing multifunctional roles in natural and agricultural ecosystems, from the completion of biogeochemic...

The increasing demand for products based from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (both leaves and purified steviol glycosides) makes of interest the research on sustainable production systems, in order to guarantee secure availability and high quality of agricultural raw materials. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis represents an interesting tool...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish beneficial mutualistic symbioses with land plants, receiving carbon in exchange for mineral nutrients absorbed by the extraradical mycelium (ERM). With the aim of obtaining in vivo produced ERM for gene expression analyses, a whole-plant bi-dimensional experimental system was devised and tested with thre...

Abstract of a poster presentation in Internazional Conference: ICOM 9 9th International Conference on Mycorrhiza, Prague, Czech Republic30th July – 4th August 2017

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which live in symbiosis with 80 % of plants, are not able to grow when separated from their hosts. Spore germination is not host-regulated and germling growth is shortly arrested in the absence of host roots. Germling survival chances may be increased by hyphal fusions (anastomoses), which allow access to nutrien...

Beneficial soil biota, and in particular, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are increasingly being recognized as key elements of organic and low-input agriculture where agrobiodiversity is central to enhanced crop production. However, the role of AMF in diversified organic systems, especially in field crops, is still poorly understood. A 3-year fi...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial microorganisms fundamental for soil fertility and plant nutrition, which establish mutualistic symbioses (mycorrhiza) with the roots of 80% of land plants, including many agricultural crops. AMF obtain carbon compounds from plant cells, which, as chemoheterotrophs, are unable to synthesize, and prov...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish mutualistic associations with the most important agricultural food and feed crops, sustaining plant growth, nutrient uptake and tolerance of biotic and abiotic stresses. Scanty information is available on the role played by crop identity and diversity as a driving force shaping AMF species communities in...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) live in symbiosis with most plant species and produce underground extraradical hyphal networks functional in the uptake and translocation of mineral nutrients from the soil to host plants. This work investigated whether fungal genotype can affect patterns of interconnections and structural traits of extraradical m...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs (Glomeromycota), which live symbiotically in the roots of most land plants and facilitate mineral nutrition of their hosts. Their spores are able to germinate in the absence of host-derived signals, but are unable to complete the life cycle without establishing a functional symbiosis with a...

Experimental studies investigated the effects of transgenic crops on the structure, function and diversity of soil and rhizosphere microbial communities playing key roles in belowground environments. Here we review available data on direct, indirect and pleiotropic effects of engineered plants on soil microbiota, considering both the technology and...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are mutualistic symbionts living in the roots of 80% of land plant species, and developing extensive, belowground extraradical hyphae fundamental for the uptake of soil nutrients and their transfer to host plants. Since AM fungi have a wide host range, they are able to colonize and interconnect contiguous plants by...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities are fundamental in organic cropping systems where they provide essential agro-ecosystem services, improving soil fertility and sustaining crop production. They are affected by agronomic practices, but still, scanty information is available about the role of specific crops, crop rotations and the use o...

The cultivation of GMPs in Europe raises many questions about the environmental risks, in particular about their ecological impact on non-target organisms and on soil properties. The aim of a multidisciplinary group engaged in a LIFE + project (MAN-GMP-ITA) was to validate and improve an existing environmental risk assessment (ERA) methodology on G...

Fresh fruits and vegetables are largely investigated for their content in vitamins, mineral nutrients, dietary fibers and plant secondary metabolites, collectively called phytochemicals, which play a beneficial role in human health. Quantity and quality of phytochemicals may be detected by using different analytical techniques, providing accurate q...

The fast development of agro-biotechnologies asks for a harmonized approach in risk analysis of GMO's releases, where "risk analysis" entails the assessment, management and communication of risk. Risk assessment consists in the evaluation of the likelihood that a hazard occurs, associated with the presence of the receptor(s) in the receiving enviro...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are increasingly used in organic cropping systems to increase yields. Although cover crops are largely used in organic farming, there is little knowledge on the impact of cover crops on native mycorrhizal fungi. Here, we studied the effect of cover crop diversity on mycorrhizal colonization in subsequent organic maize c...

In organic agriculture, soil fertility and productivity rely on biological processes carried out by soil microbes, which represent the key elements of agroecosystem functioning. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), fundamental microorganisms for soil fertility, plant nutrition and health, may play an important role in organic agriculture by compensa...

Consumers and producers have recently shown an increasing interest in health-promoting properties of plant fresh foods, which are currently considered “functional foods.” They contain phytochemicals playing a key role in promoting human health by reducing oxidative damages, modulating detoxifying enzymes, stimulating the immune system, and showing...

Hyphal anastomoses which play a key role in the formation of interconnected mycorrhizal networks and in genetic exchange among compatible individuals have been studied in a limited number of species and isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), mainly in symbiotic mycelium. In this work, the occurrence and frequency of anastomosis between hyp...

Mycelial elongation and protoplasmic flow rate in vitro were monitored for germinated spores of Gigaspora rosea and Glomus caledonium respectively, growing on membranes in microchambers, by using a combination of time-lapse and video-enhanced light microscopy and image analysis. The microchambers allowed continuous observation of living mycelium ov...

Tomato fruit has assumed the status of 'functional food' due to the association between its consumption and a reduced likelihood of certain types of cancers and CVD. The nutraceutical value of tomatoes can be affected by the cultivation conditions, e.g. the phytochemical content of the fruits may increase with the establishment of beneficial mycorr...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs, which derive nutrients from living cells of host plants (Lewis, 1973). The process of infection of host roots is characterized by distinct stages involving a number of complex morphogenetic changes in the fungi: spore germination, hyphal differentiation, appressorium formation, root penetra...

Aims Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbioses affect plant competitive relationships within and among species and may be involved in the interactions among agricultural weed species and crops, depending on their mycorrhizal status. In this work, the impact of native AM fungi (AMF) on maize-weed(s) and weed–weed competitive relationships was assessed,...

Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus L. Fiori) is a traditional component of the Mediterranean diet. Artichoke edible parts are one of the richest dietary sources of polyphenols with high bioavailability, and contain also high-quality inulin, fibres and minerals. Moreover, pharmaceutical artichoke leaf extracts show hypocholesterolemic...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs; nevertheless their spores can germinate in the absence of host plants. Such inconsistent behavior is balanced by diverse survival strategies. The ability of AM fungal hyphae to fuse might represent a fundamental survival strategy because germlings could plug into compatible mycorrhizal netw...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a key role in host plant growth and health, nutrient and water uptake, plant community diversity and dynamics. AM fungi differ in their symbiotic performance, which is the result of the interaction of two fungal characters, infectivity and efficiency. Infectivity is the ability of a fungal isolate to estab-lis...

Greenhouse and field experiments were carried out in order to investigate the influence of mycorrhizal inoculation on total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity, expressed as antiradical power (ARP), of artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus F.) leaves and flower heads extracts. The establishment of mycorrhizal symbiosis was moni...

The effect of different sulphur dioxide concentrations on culturability and viability of seven strains of Brettanomyces bruxellensis was tested in a synthetic wine medium (SWM) and a different response to molecular SO(2) among strains was detected. Sulphur dioxide induced a viable but non culturable (VBNC) state in all the strains. The greater perc...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs, living symbiotically in the roots of most land plants. They form spores in the soil, which are able to germinate and grow, but are unable to complete their life cycle without establishing a functional symbiosis with a host plant. In this chapter, results of recent studies providing new insi...

In this work we have determined the community composition of spore-forming arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in a maquis site on Pianosa island, a protected area within the Tuscan Islands UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Italy. We have analysed rhizosphere soil of the dominant plant species Pistacia lentiscus, Smilax aspera, Rosmarinus officinalis and of...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a key role in host plant growth and health, nutrient and water uptake, plant community diversity and dynamics. AM fungi differ in their symbiotic performance, which is the result of the interaction of two fungal characters, infectivity and efficiency. Infectivity is the ability of a fungal isolate to establish...