Abstract

If we better understand how fungal responses to global change are governed by their traits, we can improve predictions of fungal community composition and ecosystem function. Specifically, we can examine trade-offs among traits, in which the allocation of finite resources toward one trait reduces the investment in others. We hypothesized that trade-offs among fungal traits relating to rapid growth, resource capture, and stress tolerance sort fungal species into discrete life history strategies. We used the Biolog Filamentous Fungi database to calculate maximum growth rates of 37 fungal species and then compared them to their functional traits from the funfun database. In partial support of our hypothesis, maximum growth rate displayed a negative relationship with traits related to resource capture. Moreover, maximum growth rate displayed a positive relationship with amino acid permease, forming a putative Fast Growth life history strategy. A second putative life history strategy is characterized by a positive relationship between extracellular enzymes, including cellobiohydrolase 6, cellobiohydrolase 7, crystalline cellulase AA9, and lignin peroxidase. These extracellular enzymes were negatively related to chitosanase 8, an enzyme that can break down a derivative of chitin. Chitosanase 8 displayed a positive relationship with many traits that were hypothesized to cluster separately, forming a putative Blended life history strategy characterized by certain resource capture, fast growth, and stress tolerance traits. These trait relationships complement previously explored microbial trait frameworks, such as the Competitor-Stress Tolerator-Ruderal and the Yield-Resource Acquisition-Stress Tolerance schemes.

Highlights

  • Fungi perform essential ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling (Dighton, 2003)

  • We examine trade-offs between fungal growth rate and other fungal traits related to resource capture and stress tolerance

  • We predicted that a negative relationship would occur between maximum growth rate and traits related to resource capture or stress tolerance, due to physiological or evolutionary trade-offs

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Summary

Introduction

Fungi perform essential ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling (Dighton, 2003). It is challenging to predict how microbial communities will respond to global change and how ecosystem function will be affected (Bradford et al, 2016). Shifts in microbial community composition in response to a changing environment can alter carbon cycling (Allison and Martiny, 2008; Allison et al, 2013). A better understanding of relationships among fungal traits may allow us to improve predictions of carbon dynamics under global change (Allison, 2012). Frequently disturbed soil can provide new resources for exploitation by fast-growing fungi (Pugh and Boddy, 1988). If fast-growing fungi tend to be poor decomposers, decomposition rates in frequently disturbed soils may be slower than otherwise expected

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