Improved DNA Extraction Methods and PCR Primers for Assessing AMF Diversity and Distribution in Agroecosystems

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to be ubiquitous in many different agroecosystems where they are often considered to be critical for crop yield and agroecosystem sustainability. AM fungi exert a large ecological and economic impact by supporting plant nutrition, water supply, and resistance to pathogens. It is also known that AMF can improve soil structure and its fertility. Therefore, research on methods and primers to investigate and characterize presence, biodiversity, and distribution of AMF on a small and large scale is of great interest, especially in agroecosystems, whose management has been shown to exert different impacts on the diversity and structure of AMF communities. In this chapter, we report the most common DNA extraction methods and PCR primers, which can be used on both soil and root, for assessing AMF diversity and distribution in agroecosystems.