Funnel Mycorrhizal Fungus
Funneliformis mosseae is an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus found in agricultural soils worldwide. It forms funnel-shaped attachments where its hyphae join its spores, and partners with the roots of many crops.
Funneliformis mosseae is an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus found in agricultural soils worldwide. It forms funnel-shaped attachments where its hyphae join its spores, and partners with the roots of many crops.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Funnel Mycorrhizal Fungus in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Opisthokonta lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Widespread Root Partner
Like other members of the Glomeromycota, the fungus penetrates root cells and trades phosphorus and water for sugars and lipids. It is one of the most common mycorrhizal fungi in disturbed and farmed soils. See Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Soil Fungus.
Inoculants and Stress Tolerance
Commercial inoculants often contain this species. Plants colonized by it show better growth in dry or salty soils and sometimes greater resistance to root diseases, although the benefits depend on soil nutrients.
Field Practice
Tillage, heavy fertilizer and fallow periods reduce mycorrhizal fungi. Cover crops and reduced tillage help maintain them.
Funnel Mycorrhizal Fungus at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Funneliformis mosseae |
| Kingdom | Fungi |
| Phylum | Glomeromycota |
| Class | Glomeromycetes |
| Order | Glomerales |
| Family | Glomeraceae |
| Field Guide group | Opisthokonta: Fungi (True Fungi & Lichens) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Large yellow-brown soil spores with a funnel-shaped attachment hypha; colonizes the roots of most crop plants. |
| Group | Glomeromycota |
| Spore shape | Funnel-shaped hyphal attachment |