Donald R. Zak

Morgan McPherson, a joint post-doctoral scholar in the Zak and Ibáñez lab at SEAS, has a new paper out titled "Arbuscular mycorrhizal diversity increases across a plant productivity gradient driven by soil nitrogen availability". This study characterized the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in soils across a plant productivity gradient, coinciding with a nitrogen mineralization gradient.  The soils were associated with Red and Sugar Maple trees in Manistee National Forest, which are known AMF host species.  AMF-specific 18S rDNA targeted-gene libraries were constructed using in-lab designed primers to examine the communities and diversity of AMF.  Their diversity significantly increased along the...

This summer the Zak lab had the opportunity to host Olises Perez as part of the Aspirnaut program. The Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship Program, administered by Life Sciences Institute (LSI), brings rising Michigan high school seniors to UM to give them hands-on lab experience over a 6-week period. The goal is to encourage students, especially those in disadvantaged communities, to strive for education and careers in various STEM fields. Each Aspirnaut works with a mentor to conduct their own research, then presents their results to their peers and other mentors. The project that Olises worked on while in the Zak...

Brooke Propson, a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin, whom works in Zac Freedman's lab (former Zak lab post-doc), studied the ecosystem response and recovery after the long-term elevated nitrogen treatment was stopped. There is also a natural gradient of ambient N deposition due to human activity at these sites, as well. The study showed that the C in the organic horizon that has previously accumulated from N-treatment has been lost with added deficits post-termination of the treatment with the exception of the northernmost site (least ambient N), showing a shift in mechanistic microbial activity. The mineral soil C...

Sam Schaffer-Morrison, former SEAS student and current PhD in EEB at Michigan, has a review out with Don that argues that functional traits of mycorrhizal fungi should be included for consideration when belowground functional traits are being examined. These are incredibly important symbionts could add key mechanistic factors for plant performance (via nutrient uptake) if included in plant-soil discussions. They propose several key fungal traits that are measurable and ways to incorporate them into future research. This paper is out in Ecosphere here.

A revised 5th edition of Forest Ecology (ISBN 1119476089) is out now! Don is one of the co-authors. It has been 25 years since the previous edition and the authors wanted to retain the overall focus from the previous edition (ecosystem level), but update the text to include information about new ecological concepts and methods, and critical areas interest like sustainability. Don took a lot of care (and an enormous investment in time) to update the text, images and references for all the chapters that he worked on. It's out now and you can get it most book sellers (and...

Will Argiroff, former PhD student in SEAS, has a new paper out titled "Fungal community composition and genetic potential regulate fine root decay in northern temperate forests" that examined if fine root litter (~50% total litter production in forest ecosystems and fairly recalcitrant) decayed more rapidly when fungal communities have more genes that are known to degrade litter. The study also looked into if you could classify fungi by saprotrophic or ectomycorrhizal functional groups by the genes present. Fine roots were placed in forest sites and the fungal communities were sequenced, which where then compared to available fungal genomes to...