[COMYCO] Emergence of collective behaviour across mycorrhizal fungal networks
Ente: European Commission
Scadenza: 2028-09-30
Importo max: 217.076,16 EUR
Paese: EU
Descrizione
Underground, mycorrhizal fungi build complex networks to engage in symbiotic nutrient transfer with plants, exchanging soil nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen) for plant-derived carbon. These plant-fungal partnerships play a critical role in carbon cycling, mineral uptake, and ecosystem resilience. Recent research from the host group and others has found that mycorrhizal fungi exhibit complex behaviours that regulate nutrient exchange with their plant hosts. Yet, despite their ecological importance, the cellular dynamics and the signals that enable these sophisticated behaviours across mycelial networks lacking central organisation remain unknown.
Through a new biophysical approach, COMYCO seeks to unravel how mycorrhizal fungi mediate their behaviour to engage in symbiotic trade. I will develop micromanipulation techniques to deliver (1) localised perturbations at the cellular level and (2) network-scale stimuli that alter the growth environment. These stimuli will perturb nutrient transport machinery, metabolism and host availability to trigger behavioural responses. Leveraging robotic imaging technologies from the host lab, I will quantify responses from individual hyphae (microns) to entire networks (centimetres). This will enable unprecedented stimulus-response experimental paradigms that quantify mycorrhizal behaviour in real time. To explore the exact signals that mediate these responses, I build on my expertise in microfabricated glass probe techniques and the host lab’s strength in fluorescence imaging, quantifying (1) electric membrane potential, (2) intracellular calcium concentration, and (3) turgor pressure in fungal signalling processes.
Integrating these cross-scale experiments through biophysical analyses, my research will establish a new mechanistic understanding of how coordinated behaviours emerge in a network devoid of central organisation. These new insights will impact future interventions for sustaining biodiversity, agriculture and climate.
Settori: Symbiosis, Mycorrhizal fungi, Physics of behaviour, Electrophysiology, Micromanipulation, Robotic microscopy, Physical learning
Vai al bando originale
Registrati gratis su Bandolo per trovare bandi compatibili con la tua azienda.