Phenotype MicroArray™ system in the study of fungal functional diversity and catabolic versatility

Flavia Pinzari; Andrea Ceci; Nadir Abu-Samra; Loredana Canfora; Oriana Maggi; Annamaria Persiani

doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2016.05.008

Phenotype MicroArray™ system in the study of fungal functional diversity and catabolic versatility

Res Microbiol. 2016 Nov-Dec;167(9-10):710-722. doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2016.05.008. Epub 2016 Jun 6.

Authors

Flavia Pinzari¹, Andrea Ceci², Nadir Abu-Samra³, Loredana Canfora⁴, Oriana Maggi⁵, Annamaria Persiani⁶

Affiliations

¹ Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia agraria, Centro di Ricerca per lo Studio delle Relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo (CREA-RPS), Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy; Natural History Museum, Life Sciences Department, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. Electronic address: flavia.pinzari@crea.gov.it.
² Dipartimento di Biologia ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: andrea.ceci@uniroma1.it.
³ Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia agraria, Centro di Ricerca per lo Studio delle Relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo (CREA-RPS), Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: n.f.abusamra@gmail.com.
⁴ Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia agraria, Centro di Ricerca per lo Studio delle Relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo (CREA-RPS), Via della Navicella 2-4, 00184 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: loredana.canfora@crea.gov.it.
⁵ Dipartimento di Biologia ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: oriana.maggi@uniroma1.it.
⁶ Dipartimento di Biologia ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: annamaria.persiani@uniroma1.it.

PMID: 27283363
DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2016.05.008

Abstract

Fungi cover a range of important ecological functions associated with nutrient and carbon cycling in leaf litter and soil. As a result, research on existing relationships between fungal functional diversity, decomposition rates and competition is of key interest. Indeed, availability of nutrients in soil is largely the consequence of organic matter degradation dynamics. The Biolog^® Phenotype MicroArrays™ (PM) system allows for the testing of fungi against many different carbon sources at any one time. The use and potential of the PM system as a tool for studying niche overlap and catabolic versatility of saprotrophic fungi is discussed here, and examples of its application are provided.

Keywords: Functional diversity; Fungal ecology; Fungi; Phenotype MicroArray™; Substrate utilisation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Fungi / metabolism*
Metabolic Networks and Pathways*
Microarray Analysis / methods*
Phenotype*