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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are essential ecosystem components with functions in nutrient cycling, plant defence, abiotic stress resistance and soil formation. Taxonomic and functional diversity of AMF is increasingly described to address questions ranging from global change and land use effects to understanding ecosystem succession and macroecological patterns of soil biota. Diversity of AMF is commonly measured using DNA sequences of nuclear ribosomal operon markers; the most frequently used one being the SSU rRNA gene. I will discuss the recent estimates of the global number of AMF species - the morphospecies and those obtained on the basis of DNA only. I will also touch on the ways to delimit DNA-based species, and available information needed, such as the range of intra- and interspecific genetic variability. Further, I will summarise the current status in understanding about the global AMF diversity patterns, the knowledge of which has recently considerably gained in breadth. The geographic and habitat range of the available information provides ever more solid basis to describe AMF diversity patterns related to edaphic, climatic and geographic factors. I will conclude with highlighting some of the areas needing further research in order to make the field progressing.

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Maarja ÖPIK
Senior Research Fellow in Plant Ecology

Department of Botany
Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences
University of Tartu
40 Lai Str., 51005 Tartu
Estonia