Optimising wheat-fungal symbioses for enhanced nutrition and sustainability

The University of Sheffield is offering a PhD project focused on optimizing wheat-fungal symbioses to enhance nutrition and sustainability. The research will investigate how modern wheat cultivars interact with Mucoromycotina fine root endophytes (MFRE) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi) to improve nutrient uptake and crop performance. The successful candidate will use advanced techniques in laboratory and field settings, contributing to sustainable agricultural practices.
Meeting global food demand while reducing reliance on agrochemicals is one of agriculture’s most pressing challenges, particularly under the pressures of climate change. Symbiotic relationships between plants and soil fungi offer a promising route to enhance nutrient uptake, reduce fertiliser use, and support sustainable yield improvement. Most attention to date has focused on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which colonise crop roots in exchange for photosynthetically-fixed carbon and provide key nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. However, recent discoveries have revealed a previously overlooked group of symbiotic fungi—Mucoromycotina fine root endophytes (MFRE)—that co-occur with, or even replace, AM fungi in a wide range of plant species, including cereal crops such as wheat and barley. These MFRE are widespread, particularly in disturbed or nutrient-poor soils, and may offer alternative or complementary benefits to AM fungi, including improved nutrient acquisition and potential resilience under intensive agricultural conditions. Despite this, little is known about how different crop cultivars interact with MFRE, or whether these interactions are functionally significant.

This PhD project will explore the capacity of modern wheat cultivars to form effective symbioses with MFRE, and assess their impact on crop performance. It will address three core research questions:

1. Does MFRE colonisation vary among wheat cultivars with different breeding histories, particularly in relation to disease resistance and fertiliser responsiveness?

2. Do MFRE associations confer measurable benefits to plant growth and nutrient uptake, and are these effects cultivar-specific?

3. Can MFRE and AM fungi co-colonise wheat roots in a complementary way to enhance symbiotic function?

The successful candidate will work with a diverse panel of wheat cultivars known to vary in mycorrhizal receptivity, disease resistance, and fertiliser response. These cultivars will be inoculated with MFRE, AM fungi, or both, and compared to uninoculated controls. Growth and yield-related traits, nutrient content, and root colonisation will be assessed using light microscopy and standard agronomic techniques. Advanced techniques in multi-isotope labelling and tracing (¹⁴C, ¹⁵N, and ³³P), transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, and field trials will help assess the functional significance, underpinning mechanisms and practical feasibility of diverse fungal associations under realistic growing conditions, bridging the gap between controlled-environment research and agricultural application. The student will gain hands-on experience with advanced laboratory and field techniques, as well as benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration with leading experts in plant-microbe interactions, molecular biology, and sustainable agriculture.

This project will generate foundational knowledge of how diverse symbiotic fungi contribute to crop nutrition, helping to identify cultivars that are most responsive to beneficial fungal partnerships. In the longer term, this work could inform breeding programmes aiming to reintroduce or enhance symbiotic capacity in elite crop lines, contributing to more resilient and environmentally sustainable food systems.