Volume 1 · No. 2 · December 2010 V o lu m e 1 · N o ... - IMA Fungus

IMA Fungus · volume 1 · no 2: 155–159
Modelling fungal colonies and communities: challenges and opportunities
Ruth E. Falconer 1* , James L. Bown 2 , Eilidh McAdam 1 , Paco Perez-Reche 3 , Adam T. Sampson 2 , Jan van den Bulcke 4 and Nia A.
White 1
1
SIMBIOS Centre, University of Abertay Dundee, DD1 1HG, Dundee Scotland UK; corresponding author e-mail: r.falconer@abertay.ac.uk
2
Institute for Arts, Media and Computer Games, University of Abertay Dundee, DD1 1HG, Dundee Scotland UK
3
Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, UK
4
Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University and UGCT, University Ghent Centre for X-ray
Tomography, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, BE-9000 Gent, Belgium
ARTICLE
Abstract: This contribution, based on a Special Interest Group session held during IMC9, focuses on physiological based
models of filamentous fungal colony growth and interactions. Fungi are known to be an important component of ecosystems,
in terms of colony dynamics and interactions within and between trophic levels. We outline some of the essential components
necessary to develop a fungal ecology: a mechanistic model of fungal colony growth and interactions, where observed
behaviour can be linked to underlying function; a model of how fungi can cooperate at larger scales; and novel techniques
for both exploring quantitatively the scales at which fungi operate; and addressing the computational challenges arising from
this highly detailed quantification. We also propose a novel application area for fungi which may provide alternate routes for
supporting scientific study of colony behaviour. This synthesis offers new potential to explore fungal community dynamics
and the impact on ecosystem functioning.
Key words:
foraging
fungal growth
interactions
invasions
mycelia
networks
Article info: Submitted: 30 October 2010; Accepted: 15 November 2010; Published: 18 November 2010.
Introduction
Fungi are a central component of the biosphere, essential for
the growth of over 90 % of all vascular plants (Allen 1993),
play an essential role in ecosystem services (Boumans
2002) and it is estimated that there may be as many as 1.5
million species of fungi globally (Hawksworth 1991). Fungi
can impact on the outcome of plants and their enemies
(Bennett et al. 2006) and are a life support network for most
plants (Bardgett et al. 2006). Van der Heijden et al. (1995)
stress the importance of understanding the structure and
function of fungal communities is an important contributor to
the maintenance of plant biodiversity. Development of such
a fungal ecology requires an understanding of the spatiotemporal
growth and interaction dynamics both within fungal
communities and between fungi and plant systems. We
therefore propose that an essential step in understanding the
ecology of fungi is to combine: (1) a physiologically-based
model of fungal community dynamics, capturing colony
growth and interactions, in heterogeneous environments;
(2) non-destructive quantification of community growth
patterns through instrumentation; (3) models linking fungal
communities to plant systems; and (4) next-generation
computational approaches to simulate complex systems at
scales consistent with that instrumentation. Here, we report
on a Special Interest Group meeting held during IMC9 that
considered this agenda and the four components needed to
progress our understanding of fungal ecology. Additionally
the Group considered the notion of fungi as a biological
metaphor for complex management problems.
Modelling fungal community
dynamics
In Falconer et al. (2005, 2007, 2008) we demonstrated the
use of a physiologically-based model to explore the factors
that influence the nature of fungal community diversity and
the link between individual behaviour and the structure and
function of fungal communities. The model is individual-based
and incorporates the essential physiological processes of
nutrient absorption, within colony biomass transport and
recycling, inhibitor production and growth, and these occur
differentially within a single mycelium as a consequence
of local and non-local context. This differential behaviour
permits different parts of the mycelium to expand and senesce
concurrently. This framework was developed to capture the
minimal set of physiological processes required to reproduce
the observed range in phenotypic response in real colonies:
uptake, redistribution of biomass, remobilisation of biomass,
and growth which are known to be important for vegetative
growth of fungi but have not collectively been incorporated
© 2010 International Mycological Association
You are free to share - to copy, distribute and transmit the work, under the following conditions:
Attribution:
You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Non-commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No derivative works: You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work, which can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode. Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get
permission from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights.
v o l u m e 1 · n o . 2
155