Fungal Highways
Fungal Highways - Related Videos
05:22
Investigating Bacterial-Fungal Interactions using Fungal Highway Columns in Diverse Environments and Substrates
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Cited by 3 •
2025
This protocol provides detailed instructions on how to construct, sterilize, assemble, utilize, and reuse the fungal highway columns to enrich bacterial-fungal pairs interacting through fungal highways from diverse environmental substrates.
08:52
Live-cell Video Microscopy of Fungal Pathogen Phagocytosis
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Cited by 22 •
2013
We describe methods for live-cell video microscopy of Candida albicans phagocytosis by macrophages. These methods enable stage-specific analysis of macrophage migration, recognition, engulfment and phagosome maturation and reveal novel aspects of phagocytosis.
07:31
Microbial and Fungal Diversity - Student Protocol
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2019
Examining Microbial Colony Structures ExpandTo begin, collect your allocated culture plates and then remove the Parafilm and lid from one of them. Place the uncovered plate under a dissecting microscope and then observe the individual communities within each quadrant of the plate. As the colonies are identified, fill out the observed colony properties in the appropriate column in the table. Click Here to download Table 1 Then, repeat the observations for each of the other two bacterial species.
05:06
Microbial and Fungal Diversity - Concepts
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2019
Bacteria and fungi are two highly diverse groups of organisms that can have significant beneficial or detrimental impacts on human health. For this reason, it is important to understand and distinguish between individual species of these groups. As you will recall, biological taxonomists group organisms based on their phylogenetic relatedness. The three domains of life, Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota segregate life into three distinct groupings. While all bacteria fall within the domain...
04:14
Establishing a Fungal-Bacterial Co-culture for Biofilm Formation
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2026
Source: Miquel Guennoc, C., et al. New Method for Qualitative Multi-scale Analysis of Bacterial Biofilms on Filamentous Fungal Colonies Using Confocal and Electron Microscopy. J. Vis. Exp. (2017)This video demonstrates the preparation of a fungal culture on treated cellophane membranes to support colony formation and radial growth. It then shows the cultivation and preparation of soil bacterial cells for interaction assays. Finally, it illustrates how bacterial cells adhere to the fungal colony...
FAQs
Movement depends on bacterial attachment to hyphal surfaces and continued growth of the mycelial network. As hyphae extend through fragmented or dry substrate, attached cells can move between separated microsites rather than crossing each gap independently. This coupling of fungal growth and bacterial transport explains how a physical fungal structure can alter microbial access to otherwise isolated habitats.
The main ecological variables are substrate structure, dryness, and the distribution of nutrients. Fragmentation or low moisture makes direct bacterial crossing less efficient, while nutrient-rich microsites provide destinations that the network can connect. Consequently, the route may affect where bacteria disperse, which microbes compete, and whether colonization reaches plant roots.
Fungal highways differ from unassisted bacterial dispersal because the fungus supplies continuity across spatial gaps. Bacteria can use the hyphal surface as a route, allowing movement through environments that would otherwise be difficult to traverse efficiently. The distinction matters biologically because dispersal depends not only on bacterial movement, but also on the presence and expansion of the mycelial network.
Studies of Fungal Highways connect several levels of biology at once. At the microbial level, they reveal interactions between fungi and bacteria; at the ecosystem level, they help examine nutrient cycling; and near plants, they clarify rhizosphere organization. This makes the system useful for understanding how physical connections shape community distribution across separated soil microsites.
In agriculture, the potential application is using fungi to help beneficial microbes reach plant roots. A fungal network may connect separated nutrient-rich microsites with root-associated habitats, making bacterial colonization an important outcome to investigate. Research can therefore evaluate whether fungal growth supports the distribution of beneficial microbes and influences their access to plant-root environments.
Researchers can examine whether fungal growth changes bacterial access to separated habitats, alters competition, or affects colonization of plant roots. These observations connect microscopic movement with broader questions about nutrient cycling and microbial community organization. The same framework also supports environmental biotechnology research focused on whether fungi can help distribute or support beneficial microorganisms.