Symbiotic Germination in Cattleya purpurata: An Ultrastructural Journey from Fungal Dependence to Autotrophy Eliana de Medeiros Oliveira, Kelly Besen, Lucas Camargo dos Santos, Mateus Felipe Uller, Paulo Emilio Lovato, et al. Plants, 2026 Orchids depend on mycorrhizal fungi for seed germination, a critical process especially for endangered species such as Cattleya purpurata. This study elucidates the ultrastructural ontogeny of the symbiosis between C. purpurata and the fungus Tulasnella sp. We demonstrate a defined spatiotemporal colonization pattern: hyphae penetrate exclusively via suspensor cells, migrate through the basal region of the embryo, and only then colonize the apical region. Upon colonization, the fungus triggers changes in the embryonic cells, including nuclear hypertrophy and peloton formation. Ultrastructural analysis revealed a sequence of fungal degradation, from intact hyphae to senescent hyphae containing myelin-like bodies and an electron-dense cytoplasm, suggesting that programmed senescence precedes peloton digestion. This supports the novel hypothesis of active fungal participation in modulating its own digestion, challenging classical models. Simultaneously, embryonic cells exhibited rapid metabolic conversion, with the transition from proplastids to amyloplasts, and then to chloroplasts in less than 20 days, marking the onset of autotrophy. This integrated morphological study not only expands fundamental knowledge about symbiotic development in orchids but also provides an optimized protocol for producing symbiotic seedlings, offering a direct tool for the reintroduction and conservation of this species.
Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a long-term no-tillage onion production system Bárbara Santos Ventura, Leonardo Khaoê Giovanetti, Edenilson Meyer, Anna Flávia Neri de Almeida, Claudinei Kurtz, et al. Revista Brasileira De Ciencia do Solo, 2026 Onion is predominantly grown under conventional management. Alternatively, the no-tillage vegetable system uses cover crops to form a residue layer, which improves soil physical, chemical, and biological quality. Aiming to understand the effect of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal cover crops on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus diversity, we used morphological characterization of spores and high-throughput sequencing in soil from a long-term experiment with no-tillage onion. Treatments were black oats (Avena strigosa Schreb.); rye (Secale cereale L.); oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L.); rye + oilseed radish; black oats + oilseed radish before the onion crop, and the control was a fallow area. In spring, all plots had onions, followed by velvet-bean in summer. Additionally, a conventional tillage system area and a forest, both adjacent to the experiment, were evaluated. Morphological identification of spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi showed dominance of the Glomeraceae and Acaulosporaceae families. The DNA sequencing of rhizospheric soil confirmed those data and estimated 75 operational taxonomic units, with a predominance of the genus Glomus. Presence of oilseed radish, a non-mycorrhizal cover crop, did not reduce the occurrence of fungal species in relation to mycorrhizal cover crops. The use of different cover crop species in a long-term succession system maintains the natural mycorrhizal community.
Interactive effect of struvite produced from human urine and emerging contaminants on biological indicators of soil quality Amanda Silva Nunes, Luisa Müller Vieira, Leonardo Khaoê Giovanetti, Rodrigo Barcellos Hoff, Paulo Emílio Lovato, et al. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2026 Struvite produced from human urine is rich in macronutrients. It can be used as a slow-release fertilizer, which helps to promote growth and increase the productivity of agricultural crops. However, struvite may contain pharmaceuticals that can alter the quality of agricultural soils. Here, a greenhouse study was conducted to investigate the effects of struvite and pharmaceutical-contaminated struvite on biological indicators of soil quality (microbial growth, microbial biomass, basal respiration, metabolic quotient, and enzyme activity). The struvite was separately contaminated with a mixture of four antibiotics and four neuroactive at three different concentrations, 1, 10, and 100 mg kg −1 . The results showed that more than 90% of the pharmaceuticals were not present in the soil after the first 7 days of the study. The effects varied depending on the type of indicator, the pharmaceutical, the concentration, and the day analyzed. Soils that received contaminated struvite generally had lower growth of total heterotrophic bacteria (BHtot) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (FixN), microbial biomass (MBC), and activity of fluorescein diacetate hydrolases (FDA-H) and dehydrogenases (DHA), but higher basal respiration (SBR) and metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ) in the first 7 days. These results indicate that soil microorganisms exposed to contaminated struvite were under stress during the initial phase struvite application. However, these microorganisms showed the ability to recover by increasing microbial growth by 0.1–1.8 log 10 CFU, microbial biomass by 5.3%–102%, and enzymatic activity by 76%–774%. Both positive and negative effects were observed mainly for struvite contaminated with antibiotics. The results obtained help to clarify concerns about the safety of struvite produced from human urine. The ability of soil microorganisms to recover after stress is important to support the responsible use of this fertilizer and encourage more sustainable agricultural practices. However, the effects of pharmaceutical-contaminated struvite resulting from continuous application during successive crops should be considered in future studies.
On-Farm Evaluation of Direct Seeding of Cover Crop Effects on Soil C and N Reserves and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in a Cauliflower Production System Bruna da Rosa Dutra, Paulo Henrique da Silva Câmara, Denílson Dortzbach, Lucas Raimundo Rauber, Lucas Dupont Giumbelli, et al. Horticulturae, 2025 Vegetable production primarily relies on the conventional tillage system (CTS), which leads to soil degradation through erosion and reduced soil health. The use of no-tillage vegetable systems (NTVS) aims to mitigate these issues; however, information about the impact of this management system on soil health and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remains limited. Thus, the objective of this study was to conduct an on-farm evaluation of the effects of no-tillage and cover crop use on soil C and N contents and stocks, soil bulk density (SD), mean geometric diameter (MGD) of aggregates, soil temperature, volumetric soil moisture (VM), plant yield, and GHG emissions in cauliflower production under NTVS compared to CTS in a subtropical ecosystem in southeastern Brazil. Chemical and physical properties were assessed at depths of 0–5, 5–10, and 10–30 cm. GHG emissions, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) were measured using closed static chambers and gas chromatography. NTVS with cover crop mixes had higher yield than CTS without cover crops (25.1 and 18.4 Mg ha−1, respectively). NTVS exhibited increased MGD and VM and reduced SD. Soil temperature in the 0–5 cm layer was lower in NTVS than in CTS. Soil C and N stocks were higher in NTVS, but high N2O emissions offset this advantage compared to CTS. Overall, NTVS emitted more CO2 and N2O than CTS, while both systems showed soil CH4 uptake. NTVS maintained sufficient carbon equivalent reserves (0–30 cm) to offset GHG emissions, making it a viable alternative for plant yield and soil quality; however, its environmental impact on GHG emissions requires further attention.
Soil Health in No-tillage Vegetable Production Systems-SPDH Jucinei José Comin, Fabiane Vezzani, Monique Souza, Claudinei Kurtz, Álvaro Luiz Mafra, et al. Soil Health Series Volume 3 Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture in Brazil, 2024
Physical attributes of Cambisol in apple (Malus domestica Borkh. cv. Gala) orchard under different weed management systems in Urubici- Santa Catarina, Brazil Acta Agronomica, 2017
Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a long-term no-tillage onion production system BS Ventura, LK Giovanetti, E Meyer, AFN Almeida, C Kurtz, JJ Comin, ... Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 50, e0250039 , 2026 2026
Interactive effect of struvite produced from human urine and emerging contaminants on biological indicators of soil quality AS Nunes, LM Vieira, LK Giovanetti, RB Hoff, PE Lovato, CR Lourenzi, ... Frontiers in Environmental Science , 2026 2026
Inoculation is more effective for main crops than for preceding cover crops and does not affect the arbuscular mycorrhizal community in no-till vegetable systems CC Facco, EP da Silva, JA dos Santos, VS Alves, LK Giovanetti, ... Mycorrhiza 36 (2), 13 , 2026 2026
Long-term organic no-tillage onion system enhances soil enzyme activity and fertility attributes in southern Brazil HF Lizarelli, LK Giovanetti, CO de Alcântara, LD Giumbelli, C Kurtz, ... 2026
Symbiotic Germination in Cattleya purpurata : An Ultrastructural Journey from Fungal Dependence to Autotrophy EM Oliveira, K Besen, LC Santos, MF Uller, PE Lovato, MP Guerra, ... Plants 15 (4), 543 , 2026 2026
Soil microbial activity in a long-term organic no-till onion system JG Bortolini, JJ Comin, LK Giovanetti, BS Ventura, J de Almeida, ... Organic Agriculture 15 (2), 245-257 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
On-Farm Evaluation of Direct Seeding of Cover Crop Effects on Soil C and N Reserves and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in a Cauliflower Production System BR Dutra, PH da Silva Câmara, D Dortzbach, LR Rauber, LD Giumbelli, ... Horticulturae 11 (4), 396 , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
Guia prático de avaliação participativa da qualidade do solo em sistema de plantio direto de hortaliças (SPDH) JJ Comin, JA Fayad, C Kurtz, ÁL Mafra, P Curmi, A Loss, CA Koerich, ... UFSC , 2024 2024 Citations: 17
Rendimento da cebola em sistema de plantio direto de hortaliças de longo prazo LK Giovanetti, BL Filter, M Souza, C Kurtz, JJ Comin, PE Lovato Cadernos de Agroecologia 19 (1) , 2024 2024
Efeito das plantas de cobertura na incidência de plantas espontâneas em brócolis cultivado em SPDH MS Batista, IK Jarek, ER Lorenzeti, PE Lovato, JJ Comin, VM Júnior Cadernos de Agroecologia 19 (1) , 2024 2024
Rhizophagus intraradices and Azospirillum brasilense improve growth of herbaceous plants and soil biological activity in revegetation of a recovering coal-mining … E Meyer, SCG Stoffel, AFN de Almeida, J do Amaral Scarsanella, ... Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 55 (3), 2827-2837 , 2024 2024 Citations: 7
Qualitative soil quality assessment is efficient in a grazing system with or without trees JJ Comin, CA Bourscheid, LD Giumbelli, M Souza Teixeira, RR Couto, ... Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 104 (4), 1962-1970 , 2024 2024 Citations: 8
Inoculation methods and agronomic efficiency of Azospirillum brasilense Strain Az39 for corn crop under different brazilian edaphoclimatic conditions AG Hernández, EP da Silva, PAA Ferreira, PE Lovato, GP de Oliveira, ... Agrária-Revista Brasileira de Ciências Agrárias 19 (1), e3609-e3609 , 2024 2024 Citations: 9
Soil Health in No‐tillage Vegetable Production Systems—SPDH JJ Comin, F Vezzani, M Souza, C Kurtz, ÁL Mafra, PE Lovato, ... Soil Health Series: Volume 3 Soil Health and Sustainable Agriculture in … , 2024 2024 Citations: 5
Métodos de inoculação e eficiência agronômica da estirpe Azospirillum brasilense Az39 para a cultura do milho em diferentes condições edafoclimáticas brasileiras AG Hernández, EP da Silva, PAA Ferreira, PE Lovato, GP de Oliveira, ... 2024 Citations: 3
TOTAL CARBON AND NITROGEN AND GRANULOMETRIC FRACTIONS OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER UNDER NO-TILL SYSTEM AND CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE WITH ONION CULTIVATION. A Carla Kuneski, A Loss, T Stacowski dos Santos, L Dupont Giumbelli, ... Environmental & Social Management Journal/Revista de Gestão Social e … , 2023 2023
Increased copper concentrations in soil affect indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and physiology of grapevine plantlets M Betancur-Agudelo, E Meyer, PE Lovato Rhizosphere 27, 100711 , 2023 2023 Citations: 15
Decrease in faeces removal and soil bioturbation by dung beetles in genetically modified maize plantations in southern Brazil LF Ferreira, PE Lovato, MIM Hernández Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 171 (4), 300-311 , 2023 2023 Citations: 1
Total Carbon and Nitrogen and Granulometric Fractions of Soil Organic Matter Under No-Till System and Conventional Tillage with Onion Cultivation AC Kuneski, A Loss, TS dos Santos, LD Giumbelli, AP Lima, ... Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental 17 (9), 1-20 , 2023 2023 Citations: 5
The role of PGPR secondary metabolites in alleviating Allelopathic effects (biotic stress) and induced tolerance in plants CR Lourenzi, A Loss, M Souza, JJ Comin, PE Lovato, CRFS Soares Secondary metabolites and volatiles of PGPR in plant-growth promotion, 133-152 , 2022 2022 Citations: 10
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Enhancing crop productivity via weed suppression in organic no-till cropping systems in Santa Catarina, Brazil MA Altieri, MA Lana, HV Bittencourt, AS Kieling, JJ Comin, PE Lovato Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 35 (8), 855-869 , 2011 2011 Citations: 183
The state of art of mycorrhizas and micropropagation PE Lovato, S Gianinazzi, A Trouvelet, V Gianinazzi-Pearson Advances in horticultural science [rivista dell'ortofloroftutticoltura … , 1996 1996 Citations: 156
Total organic carbon and soil aggregation under a no-tillage agroecological system and conventional tillage system for onion A Loss, A Basso, BS Oliveira, L de Paula Koucher, RA De Oliveira, ... Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 39 (4), 1212-1224 , 2015 2015 Citations: 122
Application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in orchard and ornamental plants PE Lovato, H Schüepp, A Trouvelot, S Gianinazzi Mycorrhiza: structure, function, molecular biology and biotechnology, 443-467 , 1995 1995 Citations: 94
Soil biological indicators associated to the phosphorus cycle in a Cerrado soil under no-till and conventional tillage systems RG Carneiro, IC Mendes, PE Lovato, AM Carvalho, LJ Vivaldi Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 39, 661-669 , 2004 2004 Citations: 87
Application of commercial arbuscular endomycorrhizal fungal inoculants to the establishment of micropropagated grapevine rootstock and pineapple plants P Lovato, JP Guillemin, S Gianinazzi Agronomie 12 (10), 873-880 , 1992 1992 Citations: 81
Carbon, nitrogen and natural abundance of 13C and 15N in biogenic and physicogenic aggregates in a soil with 10 years of pig manure application A Loss, CR Lourenzi, E dos Santos Junior, CAM Junior, L Benedet, ... Soil and Tillage Research 166, 52-58 , 2017 2017 Citations: 66
Agroecology development in Brazil between 1970 and 2015 MBB da Costa, M Souza, VM Júnior, JJ Comin, PE Lovato Agroecology and sustainable food systems 41 (3-4), 276-295 , 2017 2017 Citations: 65
Changes in soil acidity and organic carbon in a sandy typic hapludalf after medium-term pig-slurry and deep-litter application G Brunetto, JJ Comin, DE Schmitt, R Guardini, CP Mezzari, BS Oliveira, ... Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 36, 1620-1628 , 2012 2012 Citations: 62
Cover crops effects on soil chemical properties and onion yield RA Oliveira, G Brunetto, A Loss, LC Gatiboni, C Kürtz, V Müller Júnior, ... Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 40, e0150099 , 2016 2016 Citations: 61
Application of Azospirillum on seeds and leaves, associated with Rhizobium inoculation, increases growth and yield of common bean LD Filipini, FK Pilatti, E Meyer, BS Ventura, CR Lourenzi, PE Lovato Archives of Microbiology 203 (3), 1033-1038 , 2021 2021 Citations: 47
Efeito da disponibilidade de água e de luz na colonização micorrízica e no crescimento de Tabebuia avellanedae Lorentz ex Griseb.(Bignoniaceae) EM Moratelli, MD Costa, PE Lovato, M Santos, MTS Paulilo Revista Árvore 31 (3), 555-566 , 2007 2007 Citations: 41
Do tradicional ao agroecológico: as veredas das transições-o caso dos agricultores familiares de Santa Rosa de Lima/SC JM Muller, PE Lovato, EM Mussoi Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Agrárias. , 2001 2001 Citations: 41
Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis elicits proteome responses opposite of P-starvation in SO4 grapevine rootstock upon root colonisation with two Glomus species GC Cangahuala-Inocente, MF Da Silva, JM Johnson, A Manga, ... Mycorrhiza 21 (6), 473-493 , 2011 2011 Citations: 39
Nutrition, productivity and soil chemical properties in an apple orchard under weed management BS Oliveira, VG Ambrosini, T Trapp, MA dos Santos, PB Sete, PE Lovato, ... Nutrient cycling in agroecosystems 104 (2), 247-258 , 2016 2016 Citations: 36
Plant growth stimulation and root colonization potential of in vivo versus in vitro arbuscular mycorrhizal inocula C Calvet, A Camprubi, A Pérez-Hernández, PE Lovato HortScience 48 (7), 897-901 , 2013 2013 Citations: 36
Yield increase of corn inoculated with a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculant in Brazil SCG Stoffel, CRFS Soares, E Meyer, PE Lovato, AJ Giachini Ciência Rural 50 (7), e20200109 , 2020 2020 Citations: 35
Response of soil microbiota to nine-year application of swine manure and urea D Morales, MM Vargas, MP Oliveira, BL Taffe, J Comin, CR Soares, ... Ciência Rural 46 (2), 260-266 , 2015 2015 Citations: 34
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant production of temperate agroecosystems S Gianinazzi, A Trouvelot, P Lovato, D Tuinen, P Franken, ... Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 15 (3-4), 305-311 , 1995 1995 Citations: 34
Mycorrhization of micropropagated mature wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) and common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) PE Lovato, N Hammat, V Gianinazzi-Pearson, S Gianinazzi Agricultural and Food Science 3 (3), 297-302 , 1994 1994 Citations: 34