In the last year, AMOLF postdoc Achille Joliot uncovered many fascinating details about mycorrhizal fungi. Now, he is able to take his research further as recipient of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. Using the grant, Achille is eager to answer an ecologically important question: how are these fungi able to make sophisticated decisions without a central nervous system. This work will be carried out in the Physics of Behavior group led by Tom Shimizu.
Underground, mycorrhizal fungi form vast networks that trade soil nutrients for plant-derived carbon. These symbioses drive carbon cycling, mineral uptake, and ecosystem resilience. Researchers from the Physics of Behavior team and collaborators have shown that fungi display complex behaviors regulating exchanges with hosts. Yet despite the ecological behavior, the cellular dynamics and signals coordinating such sophistication across decentralized mycelial networks remains largely unknown today.
Disrupting the network to understand
Through a new biophysical approach, Achille seeks to unravel how mycorrhizal fungi regulate their behavior to engage in symbiotic trade. Achille shares his plans: “I will develop techniques to deliver localized interventions at the cellular level and network-scale stimuli that change the growth environment. These stimuli will disrupt nutrient transport machinery, metabolism, and host availability to trigger behavioral responses.”
Using robotic imaging technologies from the AMOLF team, Achille will then quantify responses from individual hyphae (microns) to entire networks (centimeters). This will allow new kinds of experiments that measure how mycorrhizal fungi respond to stimuli in real time.
Signals
Another aspect of the project is to study the signals that help fungi coordinate their responses. To do this, Achille will combine his experience using tiny glass probes with advanced imaging that makes activity inside cells visible. This will help him test whether electrical signals, calcium signals, or pressure changes are involved.
By linking results across different scales, the research aims to explain how complex, coordinated behavior can arise in a network without a central nervous system. These findings could guide future strategies to support biodiversity, agriculture, and climate stability.
Learn More
Read more about trade agreements in plant-fungal networks.
