Test battery for the effect determination of chemicals in soils: Suitability of test systems with mycorrhizal fungi for the risk assessment

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) are recognized as important providers of ecosystem services, supporting soil health and key soil functions. Their ecological relevance and sensitivity to chemicals led the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) indicate AMF as a potential group of non-target test organisms for future Ecological Risk Assessment schemes (ERA) for Plant Protection Products (PPPs). However, AMF sensitivity to chemicals is poorly understood and the impact of contaminants on the AMF life cycle, including on spore viability (AMF pre-symbiotic phase), root colonization and subsequent production of spores and soil mycelium (AMF symbiotic phase), are of growing concern due to the crucial importance of these microorganisms on soil ecosystems.
The ERAMYC project included an extensive literature review on the effects of organic chemicals on the pre-symbiotic and symbiotic phases of the AMF life cycle which guided the development and refinement of test protocols for AMF testing for risk assessment. A series of laboratory experiments, including the use of different test methodologies, AMF species, host plants, test soils and test substances, culminated on the production of test protocols which were submitted to ring tests, with the objective of drafting a new OECD test guideline for AMF pre-symbiotic and symbiotic phase testing.
Despite the steps given towards standardization of AMF testing, the tested methods within this project showed high variability of the estimated endpoints and a low number of valid data sets resulting from the ring test experiments. AMF intra-specific genetic variation and the technical knowledge needed for the measurement of AMF parameters (e.g. root colonization and hyphae measurements) could be the main factors contributing to the high variability of the results.
Data produced in the ERAMYC project constitutes an undeniable contribution for the standardization of methods based on AMF colonization and highlights the current insufficiency of ERA of PPPs in European Union to protect this group of microorganisms in terrestrial systems.