Opening the black box: <i>in situ</i> imaging of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal structures in soil using synchrotron‐based micro‐ <scp>CT</scp>

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) contribute to plant nutrient and water uptake via their extraradical hyphal networks. However, in situ methodologies to quantify architectural and morphological traits of these networks in soil are largely lacking, limiting our understanding of AMF-mediated resource transport. Using synchrotron-based X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT), we established a workflow to cultivate, noninvasively image, and quantitatively analyze AMF hyphosphere and rhizosphere structures in the interaggregate space across two soil textures and biological contexts. We developed a pipeline for quantitative three-dimensional (3D) assessment of key architectural and morphological traits including structure counts, hyphal length, branching frequency, volume, and surface area. Our method further permits (1) measurement of AMF-soil and AMF-root interface areas and (2) microscale quantification of pore space occupancy by AMF. Micro-CT offers a tool for noninvasively visualizing AMF in air-filled soil pore space. We outline how such quantitative 3D information can be incorporated into image-based and functional-structural soil-plant models, thereby supporting a better mechanistic understanding of AMF-mediated processes in soils and plants.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
New Phytologist
Published
2026-07-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.71379
Primary Topic
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Opening the black box: in situ imaging of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal structures in soil using synchrotron‐based micro‐ CT

Mutez Ali Ahmed, Andrew King, Jussi‐Petteri Suuronen, Bernhard Hesse et al.
New Phytologist
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
article

Opening the black box: in situ imaging of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal structures in soil using synchrotron‐based micro‐ CT

Mutez Ali Ahmed, Andrew King, Jussi‐Petteri Suuronen, Bernhard Hesse, Andrea Schnepf, Michael Bitterlich, Heck Af, Johanna Pausch, Jan Jansa, Sylvain Delzon, Jonathan Perrin, Eva Jacob, Nicolai Koebernick, Henri M. Braunmiller
article en

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) contribute to plant nutrient and water uptake via their extraradical hyphal networks. However, in situ methodologies to quantify architectural and morphological traits of these networks in soil are largely lacking, limiting our understanding of AMF-mediated resource transport. Using synchrotron-based X-ray computed microtomography (micro-CT), we established a workflow to cultivate, noninvasively image, and quantitatively analyze AMF hyphosphere and rhizosphere structures in the interaggregate space across two soil textures and biological contexts. We developed a pipeline for quantitative three-dimensional (3D) assessment of key architectural and morphological traits including structure counts, hyphal length, branching frequency, volume, and surface area. Our method further permits (1) measurement of AMF-soil and AMF-root interface areas and (2) microscale quantification of pore space occupancy by AMF. Micro-CT offers a tool for noninvasively visualizing AMF in air-filled soil pore space. We outline how such quantitative 3D information can be incorporated into image-based and functional-structural soil-plant models, thereby supporting a better mechanistic understanding of AMF-mediated processes in soils and plants.

New Phytologist
University of Bonn (DE), Université de Bordeaux (FR), The University of Queensland (AU), Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE), Synchrotron soleil (FR), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Institute of Microbiology (BY), Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Microbiology (CZ), De Gruyter Brill (Germany) (DE), UMR BIOdiversity, GEnes & Communities (FR), Sphere Institute (US), University of Bayreuth (DE), Technical University of Munich (DE)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.