Abstract
Surveys of carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus ratios are available now for major groups of biota and for various aquatic and terrestrial biomes. However, while fungi play an important role in nutrient cycling in ecosystems, relatively little is known about their C:N:P stoichiometry and how it varies across taxonomic groups, functional guilds, and environmental conditions. Here we present the first systematic compilation of C:N:P data for fungi including four phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and Zygomycota). The C, N, and P contents (percent of dry mass) of fungal biomass varied from 38 to 57%, 0.23 to 15%, and 0.040 to 5.5%, respectively. Median C:N:P stoichiometry for fungi was 250:16:1 (molar), remarkably similar to the canonical Redfield values. However, we found extremely broad variation in fungal C:N:P ratios around the central tendencies in C:N:P ratios. Lower C:P and N:P ratios were found in Ascomycota fungi than in Basidiomycota fungi while significantly lower C:N ratios (p < 0.05) and higher N:P ratios (p < 0.01) were found in ectomycorrhizal fungi than in saprotrophs. Furthermore, several fungal stoichiometric ratios were strongly correlated with geographic and abiotic environmental factors, especially latitude, precipitation, and temperature. The results have implications for understanding the roles that fungi play in function in symbioses and in soil nutrient cycling. Further work is needed on the effects of actual in situ growth conditions of fungal growth on stoichiometry in the mycelium.
Highlights
Ecological stoichiometry is the study of the balance of multiple chemical elements in ecological interactions and processes (Sterner and Elser, 2002)
As nutrient cycling in natural ecosystems is largely driven by microorganisms (Spohn, 2016), the carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus ratios of soil microbial biomass and ecoenzymatic activity ratios related to resource acquisition have begun to be surveyed (Cleveland and Liptzin, 2007; Sinsabaugh et al, 2009), with a primary emphasis on bacteria
What are N and P requirements of the fungal partner? Answering such simple questions is difficult because our understanding of fungal C, N, and P stoichiometry and how it varies across taxonomic groups, functional guilds, and environmental conditions is poorly developed
Summary
Ecological stoichiometry is the study of the balance of multiple chemical elements in ecological interactions and processes (Sterner and Elser, 2002). Answering such simple questions is difficult because our understanding of fungal C, N, and P stoichiometry and how it varies across taxonomic groups, functional guilds, and environmental conditions is poorly developed. To address these gaps in our knowledge, here we present the first systematic compilation of C:N:P data for fungi. Including stoichiometry, element, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, chemical composition, mineral, nutrient, fungi, mushroom, yeast, Saccharomyces, fruit body, sporocarp, mycorrhizal, mycelium, and hyphae. Ectomycorrhizal fungi, pathotrophs (receiving nutrients by harming host cells), and saprotrophs were selected for comparison of C:N:P stoichiometry among functional guilds (Appendix S3). Pearson’s correlation analysis was performed to check for correlations between fungal C:N:P ratios and various geographic
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
