Role of fungal highways in the functioning of the oxalate-carbonate pathway

This study tested whether fungal highways are involved in activating bacterial oxalotrophic activity in soil environments, thus promoting the functioning of the oxalate-carbonate pathway (OCP). To investigate this, two-compartmented soil microcosms were used in order to physically separate a donor soil containing microbes of an OCP ecosystem from a sterile target soil containing Ca-ox. The establishment of an effective OCP in the target soil was assessed by following the pH and the Ca-ox content, as well as bacterial and fungal colonization with next generation sequencing.