Development of 3D printed fungal highway columns for the study of bacteria-fungi interactions in soil

The bacteria-fungi interaction (BFI) known as fungal highways is an interaction with great importance for the ecosystem functioning. In this interaction, which occurs for instance in unsaturated soils, some bacteria are able to use fungal hyphae for their dispersion, overcoming their mobility limitation. The development of 3D printed fungal highway columns (or 3D columns) is an innovative and easy-to-use tool for studying BFI in natural environments to assess how this BFI affects ecosystem processes.