The development of fungal networks in complex environments

TY - JOUR

T1 - The development of fungal networks in complex environments

AU - Boswell, Graeme P.

AU - Jacobs, Helen

AU - Ritz, Karl

AU - Gadd, Geoffrey M.

AU - Davidson, Fordyce A.

N1 - dc.publisher: Springer-Verlag

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - Fungi are of fundamental importance in terrestrial ecosystems playing important roles in decomposition, nutrient cycling, plant symbiosis and pathogenesis, and have significant potential in several areas of environmental biotechnology such as biocontrol and bioremediation. In all of these contexts, the fungi are growing in environments exhibiting spatio-temporal nutritional and structural heterogeneities. In this work, a discrete mathematical model is derived that allows detailed understanding of how events at the hyphal level are influenced by the nature of various environmental heterogeneities. Mycelial growth and function is simulated in a range of environments including homogeneous conditions, nutritionally-heterogeneous conditions and structurally-heterogeneous environments, the latter emulating porous media such as soils. Our results provide further understanding of the crucial processes involved in fungal growth, nutrient translocation and concomitant functional consequences, e.g. acidification, and have implications for the biotechnological application of fungi.

AB - Fungi are of fundamental importance in terrestrial ecosystems playing important roles in decomposition, nutrient cycling, plant symbiosis and pathogenesis, and have significant potential in several areas of environmental biotechnology such as biocontrol and bioremediation. In all of these contexts, the fungi are growing in environments exhibiting spatio-temporal nutritional and structural heterogeneities. In this work, a discrete mathematical model is derived that allows detailed understanding of how events at the hyphal level are influenced by the nature of various environmental heterogeneities. Mycelial growth and function is simulated in a range of environments including homogeneous conditions, nutritionally-heterogeneous conditions and structurally-heterogeneous environments, the latter emulating porous media such as soils. Our results provide further understanding of the crucial processes involved in fungal growth, nutrient translocation and concomitant functional consequences, e.g. acidification, and have implications for the biotechnological application of fungi.

KW - Hybrid cellular automata

KW - Fungal mycelia

KW - Modelling

U2 - 10.1007/s11538-005-9056-6

DO - 10.1007/s11538-005-9056-6

M3 - Article

C2 - 16841267

SN - 0092-8240

VL - 69

SP - 605

EP - 634

JO - Bulletin of Mathematical Biology

JF - Bulletin of Mathematical Biology

IS - 2

ER -