Download International Congress on Mycorrhizae: mycorrhizal

Mycorrhiza
DOI 10.1007/s00572-015-0637-4
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International Congress on Mycorrhizae: mycorrhizal symbiosis
a key factor for improving plant productivity
and ecosystems restoration
Mohamed Hafidi 1 & Ahmed Qaddoury 1 & Robin Duponnois 2 &
Daniel Wipf 3 & Mohamed Hijri 4 & Amadou Bâ 5
# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
The Mycorrhizae and Mediterranean Ecosystems Group
(MYCOMED), the African Network on Mycorrhiza
(AFRINOM) and the French Mycorrhizologist Network
(RAMYF) co-organized an International Congress on
BMycorrhizal Symbiosis a Key Factor for Improving Plant
Productivity and Ecosystems Restoration^ in Marrakech,
Morocco, October 15–17, 2014. Three hundred participants
from 45 different countries attended the congress, which included 65 oral presentations and 100 posters. Abstracts of all
talks and posters can be found at the website (http://icmycorrhizae2014.uca.ma) of Cadi Ayyad University. The
congress was an international forum for exchange of
knowledge and expertise between scientists developing
fundamental and applied mycorrhizal research as well as
companies commercializing mycorrhizal inoculum. The
objectives were to update scientific and technical knowledge
on mycorrhizal fungi as providers of key ecological services,
to valorize the mycorrhizal symbiosis in practices in the socioeconomic environment of Mediterranean and tropical areas
and to share the experiences of scientists with young researchers, policy makers and end-users. The contents
Mohamed Hafidi, Ahmed Qaddoury, Robin Duponnois, Daniel Wipf,
Mohamed Hijri and Amadou Bâ contributed equally to this work.
* Amadou Bâ
[email protected]
1
Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco
2
IRD/LSTM-UMR113, Montpellier, France
3
Université de Bourgogne UMR Agroécologie INRA1347/Agrosup/
U, Bourgogne, Dijon, France
4
Université Montréal, Québec, Canada
5
Université des Antilles/ LSTM-UMR113, Pointe-à-Pitre, France
addressed included three topics: (i) biology, ecology and diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in tropical and Mediterranean
environments; (ii) mycorrhizal symbiosis and plant tolerance
to biotic and abiotic stresses and (iii) valorization and transfer
of mycorrhizal biotechnologies in agro-ecological engineering strategies and the socio-economic environment of tropical
and Mediterranean areas.
In the opening conference on the role of arbuscular mycorrhiza for plant health, Prof. Paola Bonfante (Italy) provided an
overview on the cellular and molecular mechanisms which
allow plants to take up essential minerals in model legume
plants, and revealed how mycorrhiza may have a systemic
impact on the fruit transcriptomics and nutrient content in
agricultural important crops such as tomato.
Dr. Marc Buée (France) introduced topic (i) by raising the
fundamental question of how to connect metagenomics and
mycorrhizal fungal ecology. Through various examples, spanning from local to large-scale studies using biogeographic
approaches, he presented the advantages and risks of highthroughput sequencing to investigate ectomycorrhizal fungal
ecology, with unprecedented scales of sampling, and illustrated how fungal genome resources feed metagenomics to increase knowledge on the ecology of mycorrhizal fungal communities and assemblages.
In introducing topic (ii), Prof. Guillaume Bécard (France)
talked about plant mechanisms that discriminate beneficial
and pathogenic microorganisms via microbial signals. These
molecular signals are involved in the processes of nodulation,
mycorrhization, root development and basal plant immunity.
They could have a huge potential for sustainable agriculture
because of their implication in enhancing plant nutrition,
growth and defense against pathogens and pests.
Dr. Silvio Gianinazzi (France) introduced topic (iii) by presenting the domestication of beneficial soil microorganisms as
an innovative technology for agriculture. He suggested that
Mycorrhiza
strategies for management of beneficial soil microbes should
integrate three major components: plants, endophytes and
agroecosystems. Researchers need to consider new technological approaches for optimizing the technical procedure and the
efficient exploitation of these biological systems. He provided
examples with particular emphasis on arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi.
Oral and poster presentations were scheduled within each
topic, and they sparked a series of debates, underlined challenges and pointed to future directions. To assess the diversity
and ecology of mycorrhizal fungi (topic (i)), clear questions
and hypotheses, appropriate experimental design and replication, and analysis of molecular data, could greatly benefit by
the use of next-generation sequencing technologies (e.g.
Illumina Amplicon Seq). To optimize the positive effect of
mycorrhiza on plant crop tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses (topic (ii)), three directions were proposed as follows: selection of plant genotypes with best mycorrhizal responsiveness, selection of mycorrhizal fungal isolates for a given plant
crop in a given environment (e.g. low P, drought, pollution)
and development of efficient methods (rapid, cheap and relevant) to evaluate the mycorrhizal potential in the field. Future
work on the management of mycorrhizal ecosystem services
(topic (iii)) should aim to optimize the management of mycorrhizal fungi, to diversify crop rotations using mycorrhizal
crops for increasing soil mycorrhizal potential and diversity,
to inoculate with mixed mycorrhizal fungal inocula to overcome negative effects of management practices (e.g. tillage,
chemical fertilizer) on the diversity of mycorrhizal fungal populations and to develop toolkits for quantification and tracking
inoculants in crop lands and crop roots. Large-scale exploitation of mycorrhizal fungi in plant production systems could be
based on the wide range application of mycorrhiza-based inoculants, such as in the Great Green Wall project in Africa,
date palm revegetation, mushroom production and forestry.
Many thanks go to the University Cadi Ayyad and
members of the local organizing committee of the congress for their wonderful hospitality and to the sponsors
Sharifian Phosphate Office, Ministry of Agriculture and
Sea Fishing, Institute of Research for Development,
Embassy of France in Morocco, Fondation Aïn
Agadem, Crédit Agricole Private Banking, National
Centre of Scientific Research, Academy Hassan II of
Science and Technology.