Petra Fransson

I am working as a researcher within the field of microbial ecology/mycology with questions relating to ectomycorrhizal carbon flow and climate change in in boreal forests. Starting from January 2012 I am part of the strong research environment IMPRESS which is financed by FORMAS. Besides from research I spend part of my time as director of studies for the research school Organism Biology.

CV

Publication list

Research interests

Mycorrhizal fungi have direct access to plant photoassimilates, and partition large quantities of carbon belowground. The carbon is used to build up soil mycelia or is released via respiration or exudation. The symbiosis between plant and fungus is affected by a range of changing environmental conditions, and as a result the carbon flow can be affected. My research aims at understanding soil carbon cycling and carbon storage in forest soil under elevated levels of atmospheric CO2, especially focusing on the role and function of ectomycorrhizal fungi and other soil microorganisms.

In my work I combine community level analysis of fungal and bacterial species composition and physiological profiles (CLPP) with chemical fingerprinting of for example exudates and cellwall composition. I also use techniques such as stable isotope probing (SIP) to follow carbon from the plant photosynthesis into mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microorganisms. With this you can determine which members of the soil community are active and quantify carbon flow.

I am also interested in fungal gene expression related to carbon and nitrogen in the symbiosis, and have the post doc project ‘Understanding sink-source relationships in the mycorrhizal plant system – a functional study of Piloderma’ together with Liz Bent.

Piloderma sp. growing on a stick, in soil, in culture and in synthesis with a pine seedling.

Chemical fingerprinting using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is done in collaboration with Colin Campbell at the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland.

Mycelial decomposition is the focus of a collaborative project aiming to clarify the contribution of microorganisms in carbon cycling and incorporating field data into an ecosystem model. This work is done together with Björn Lindahl, Roger Finlay, Shahid Mahmood and Alf Ekblad.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact me! Contact details can be found to the left.