Kristin Aleklett

Lund University | LU · Department of Biology

Background The root system of a plant is known to host a wide diversity of microbes that can be essential or detrimental to the plant. Microbial ecologists have long struggled to understand what factors structure the composition of these commu-nities. An overlooked part of the microbial com-munity succession in root systems has been the potential f...

Though we are learning more about the diversity, dynamics, and importance of phyllosphere microbiota, we have only modest knowledge about those microorganisms that specifically inhabit flowers. Due to their ephemerality and exquisite anatomy, flowers provide unique habitats to microorganisms including a range of distinct micro-scale niches. Here, w...

Soil is likely the most complex ecosystem on earth. Despite the global importance and extraordinary diversity of soils, they have been notoriously challenging to study. We show how pioneering microfluidic techniques provide new ways of studying soil microbial ecology by allowing simulation and manipulation of chemical conditions and physical struct...

How do fungi navigate through the complex microscopic maze-like structures found in the soil? Fungal behaviour, especially at the hyphal scale, is largely unknown and challenging to study in natural habitats such as the opaque soil matrix. We monitored hyphal growth behaviour and strategies of seven Basidiomycete litter decomposing species in a mic...

As human beings, behaviours make up our everyday lives. What we do from the moment we wake up to the moment we go back to sleep at night can all be classified and studied through the concepts of behavioural ecology. The same applies to all vertebrates and, to some extent, invertebrates. Fungi are, in most people’s eyes perhaps, the eukaryotic multi...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered ecosystem engineers, however, the exact mechanisms by which they modify and influence their immediate surroundings are largely unknown and difficult to study in soil. In this study, we used microfluidic chips, simulating artificial soil structures, to study foraging strategies and habitat modificati...

Little is known about how community composition in the plant microbiome is affected by events in the life of a plant. For example, when the plant is exposed to soil, microbial communities may be an important factor in root community assembly. We conducted two experiments asking whether the composition of the root microbiota in mature plants could b...

Microbes govern most soil functions, but investigation of these processes at the scale of their cells has been difficult to accomplish. Here we incubate microfabricated, transparent ‘soil chips’ with soil, or bury them directly in the field. Both soil microbes and minerals enter the chips, which enables us to investigate diverse community interdepe...

The soil environment is highly heterogeneous, with minerals and organic matter patchily distributed, especially at the micro-scale in which fungal hyphae forage for nutrients. Microfluidic techniques allow us to, for the first time, begin to mimic this micro-scale heterogeneity found in natural soil habitats. By moulding networks of micro-channels,...

We are utilizing microfluidic techniques to study fungal foraging behavior in simulated soil environments. By moulding networks of micro-channels in PDMS, and utilizing chemical gradients in hydrogels, we are able to manipulate small-scale chemical conditions and levels of physical structure, and can for the first time begin to mimic the micro-scal...

Data generated from next generation sequencing (NGS) will soon comprise the majority of information about arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities. Although these approaches give deeper insight, analysing NGS data involves decisions that can significantly affect results and conclusions. This is particularly true for AMF community studies, be...

Plant roots are known to harbor large and diverse communities of bacteria. It has been suggested that plant identity can structure these root-associated communities, but few studies have specifically assessed how the composition of root microbiota varies within and between plant species growing under natural conditions. We assessed the community co...

Plant roots are known to harbor large and diverse communities of bacteria. It has been suggested that plant identity can structure these root-associated communities, but few studies have specifically assessed how the composition of root microbiota varies within and between plant species growing under natural conditions. We sampled endophytic and ep...

Plant roots are known to harbor large and diverse communities of bacteria. It has been suggested that plant identity can structure these root-associated communities, but few studies have specifically assessed how the composition of root microbiota varies within and between plant species growing under natural conditions. We sampled endophytic and ep...

Background/Question/Methods While we are learning more about the importance of microbial communities for plant health and productivity, it remains unresolved how these communities change over time and to what degree we are able to manipulate their composition. Is it possible that there is a window of opportunity for microbes to colonize a root sy...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are plant symbionts capable of enhancing nutrient uptake and improving soil structure. These features have brought AMF into focus as a component of soil restora-tion practices in ecosystems with degraded or highly eroded soils. It has been suggested that increasing the levels of organic material in the soil will e...