# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/mycorrhizal-fungi-and-plant-interactions/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions research in the Class of 2026?

Mycorrhizal research in the Class of 2026 highlights tripartite symbiosis, fungal hyphae networks, and ecological multifunctionality as key drivers of plant drought tolerance and nutrient cycling. Rapid growth in ecological restoration and root-derived carbon research marks a strategic pivot away from broad metagenomic cataloging toward functional plant-soil-microbe applications.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 5,906 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Ecosystem multifunctionality, Available phosphorus, Drought stress, Endophytic fungi, Tripartite symbiosis |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 42–146 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved July 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Cross-kingdom nutrient exchange in the plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus–bacterium continuum | Shilong Duan, Gu Feng, Erik Limpens, Paola Bonfante, Xianan Xie, Lin Zhang | Paola Bonfante, Xianan Xie, Lin Zhang | China Agricultural University, China | Nature Reviews Microbiology | 146 | 10.1038/s41579-024-01073-7 |
| 2 | Enhancing Soil Health and Plant Growth through Microbial Fertilizers: Mechanisms, Benefits, and Sustainable Agricultural Practices | Xinpei Wei, Benkang Xie, Chu Wan, Renfeng Song, Wanru Zhong, Shuquan Xin, Kai Song | Shuquan Xin | Changchun Normal University, China | Agronomy | 136 | 10.3390/agronomy14030609 |
| 3 | Nutrient-induced acidification modulates soil biodiversity-function relationships | Zhengkun Hu, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Nicolas Fanin, Xiaoyun Chen, Yan Zhou, Guozhen Du, Feng Hu, Lin Jiang, Shuijin Hu, Manqiang Liu | Manqiang Liu | Nanjing Agricultural University, China | Nature Communications | 123 | 10.1038/s41467-024-47323-3 |
| 4 | Superiority of native soil core microbiomes in supporting plant growth | Yanyan Zhou, Donghui Liu, Fengqiao Li, Yuanhua Dong, Zhili Jin, Yangwenke Liao, Xiaohui Li, Shuguang Peng, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Xiaogang Li | Xiaohui Li, Shuguang Peng, Xiaogang Li | Nanjing Forestry University, China | Nature Communications | 105 | 10.1038/s41467-024-50685-3 |
| 5 | Community assembly of organisms regulates soil microbial functional potential through dual mechanisms | Lingyue Zhu, Lu Luan, Yan Chen, Xiaoyue Wang, Shungui Zhou, Wenxiu Zou, Xiaori Han, Yinghua Duan, Bo Zhu, Yan Li, Wenzhao Liu, Jizhong Zhou, Jiabao Zhang, Yuji Jiang, Bo Sun | Jiabao Zhang, Yuji Jiang | Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Global Change Biology | 67 | 10.1111/gcb.17160 |
| 6 | Revealing the hidden world of soil microbes: Metagenomic insights into plant, bacteria, and fungi interactions for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem restoration | M Jagadesh, Munmun Dash, Aradhna Kumari, Santosh Kumar Singh, Krishan K Verma, Prasann Kumar, Rajan Bhatt, Satish Kumar Sharma | Aradhna Kumari, Santosh Kumar Singh, Krishan K. Verma | Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India | Microbiological Research | 65 | 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127764 |
| 7 | Microbial biodiversity and plant functional trait interactions in multifunctional ecosystems | Mir Muhammad Nizamani, Alice C. Hughes, Salman Qureshi, Qian Zhang, Entaj Tarafder, Diptosh Das, Krishnendu Acharya, Yong Yan Wang, Zhengguang Zhang | Yong Yan Wang, Zhengguang Zhang | Guizhou University, China | Applied Soil Ecology | 58 | 10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105515 |
| 8 | Interactive Suitability of Rice Stubble Biochar and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi for Improving Wastewater-Polluted Soil Health and Reducing Heavy Metals in Peas | Muniba Farhad, Maryam Noor, Muhammad Yasin, Mohsin Hussain Nizamani, Veysel Turan, Muhammad Iqbal | Muhammad Iqbal | Government College University, Pakistan | Sustainability | 54 | 10.3390/su16020634 |
| 9 | Microbial colonisation rewires the composition and content of poplar root exudates, root and shoot metabolomes | F Fracchia, F Guinet, N L Engle, T J Tschaplinski, C Veneault-Fourrey, A Deveau | Claire Veneault‐Fourrey, Aurélie Deveau | Université de Lorraine, France | Microbiome | 53 | 10.1186/s40168-024-01888-9 |
| 10 | Fungal community composition predicts forest carbon storage at a continental scale | Mark A Anthony, Leho Tedersoo, Bruno De Vos, Luc Croisé, Henning Meesenburg, Markus Wagner, Henning Andreae, Frank Jacob, Paweł Lech, Anna Kowalska, Martin Greve, Genoveva Popova, Beat Frey, Arthur Gessler, Marcus Schaub, Marco Ferretti, Peter Waldner, Vicent Calatayud, Roberto Canullo, Giancarlo Papitto, Aleksander Marinšek, Morten Ingerslev, Lars Vesterdal, Pasi Rautio, Helge Meissner, Volkmar Timmermann, Mike Dettwiler, Nadine Eickenscheidt, Andreas Schmitz, Nina Van Tiel, Thomas W Crowther, Colin Averill | Mark Anthony | ETH Zürich, Switzerland | Nature Communications | 50 | 10.1038/s41467-024-46792-w |
| 11 | Agricultural practices influence soil microbiome assembly and interactions at different depths identified by machine learning | Yujie Mo, Raven Bier, Xiaolin Li, Melinda Daniels, Andrew Smith, Lei Yu, Jinjun Kan | Lei Yu, Jinjun Kan | Beihang University, China | Communications Biology | 50 | 10.1038/s42003-024-07059-8 |
| 12 | Soil microbial diversity plays an important role in resisting and restoring degraded ecosystems | Alexandre Pedrinho, Lucas William Mendes, Arthur Prudêncio de Araújo Pereira, Ademir Sérgio Ferreira de Araújo, Anukool Vaishnav, Dimitrios G. Karpouzas, Brajesh K. Singh | Brajesh K. Singh | University of Thessaly, Greece | Plant and Soil | 49 | 10.1007/s11104-024-06489-x |
| 13 | Above-and below-ground feedback loop of maize is jointly enhanced by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in drier soil | Wasim Khan, Ying Zhu, Aziz Khan, Ling Zhao, Yu-Miao Yang, Ning Wang, Meng Hao, Yue Ma, Jaya Nepal, Fazal Ullah, Muhammad Maqsood Ur Rehman, Muhammad Abrar, You-Cai Xiong | Ying Zhu, You‐Cai Xiong | Lanzhou University, China | The Science of The Total Environment | 49 | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170417 |
| 14 | Drought-Tolerant Bacteria and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Mitigate the Detrimental Effects of Drought Stress Induced by Withholding Irrigation at Critical Growth Stages of Soybean (Glycine max, L.) | Aya Ahmed Nader, Fathi I A Hauka, Aida H Afify, Ahmed M El-Sawah | Ahmed M. El‐Sawah | Mansoura University, Egypt | Microorganisms | 49 | 10.3390/microorganisms12061123 |
| 15 | The biology and chemistry of a mutualism between a soil bacterium and a mycorrhizal fungus | Adrien Anckaert, Stéphane Declerck, Laure-Anne Poussart, Stéphanie Lambert, Catherine Helmus, Farah Boubsi, Sébastien Steels, Anthony Argüelles Arias, Maryline Calonne, Marc Ongena | Adrien Anckaert, Marc Ongena | University of Liège, Belgium | Current Biology | 49 | 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.019 |
| 16 | Host genotype-specific rhizosphere fungus enhances drought resistance in wheat | Hong Yue, Xuming Sun, Tingting Wang, Ali Zhang, Dejun Han, Gehong Wei, Weining Song, Duntao Shu | Gehong Wei, Weining Song, Duntao Shu | Northwest A&F University, China | Microbiome | 48 | 10.1186/s40168-024-01770-8 |
| 17 | Enhancing soil health and nutrient cycling through soil amendments: Improving the synergy of bacteria and fungi | Yanhong Ding, Xiaodong Gao, Duntao Shu, Kadambot H M Siddique, Xiaolin Song, Pute Wu, Changjian Li, Xining Zhao | Changjian Li, Xining Zhao | Northwest A&F University, China | The Science of The Total Environment | 48 | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171332 |
| 18 | A tripartite bacterial-fungal-plant symbiosis in the mycorrhiza-shaped microbiome drives plant growth and mycorrhization | Changfeng Zhang, Marcel G A van der Heijden, Bethany K Dodds, Thi Bich Nguyen, Jelle Spooren, Alain Valzano-Held, Marco Cosme, Roeland L Berendsen | Roeland L. Berendsen | Utrecht University, Netherlands | Microbiome | 46 | 10.1186/s40168-023-01726-4 |
| 19 | Deforestation impacts soil biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide | Xinjing Qu, Xiaogang Li, Richard D Bardgett, Yakov Kuzyakov, Daniel Revillini, Christian Sonne, Changlei Xia, Honghua Ruan, Yurong Liu, Fuliang Cao, Peter B Reich, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo | Xinjing Qu, Xiaogang Li, Fuliang Cao, Manuel Delgado‐Baquerizo | Nanjing Forestry University, China | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 44 | 10.1073/pnas.2318475121 |
| 20 | Meta‐analysis reveals globally sourced commercial mycorrhizal inoculants fall short | Liz Koziol, Thomas P McKenna, James D Bever | Liz Koziol | University of Kansas, United States | New Phytologist | 42 | 10.1111/nph.20278 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

Research in the Class of 2026 on mycorrhizal fungi and plant interactions centers heavily on ecological multifunctionality and sustainable agricultural practices. A major focal point is the mechanistic role of mycorrhizal networks and endophytic fungi in enhancing plant resilience to abiotic stress, particularly drought stress and soil nutrient constraints like available phosphorus limitation. Studies emphasize tripartite symbiosis—the synergistic interactions among plants, mycorrhizal fungi, and helper bacterial communities—as a primary driver of nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and soil network stability. Furthermore, practical applications in crop management, notably in maize cultivation, prominently feature biofertilizers, root-derived carbon allocations, and saprotrophic contributions to restore degraded ecosystems. Rather than isolating individual fungal taxa, high-impact literature prioritizes systemic ecosystem services, demonstrating how fungal hyphae networks facilitate nutrient transport, improve soil structure, and bolster overall ecosystem multifunctionality under environmental change.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparing the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026 reveals a distinct shift toward functional ecosystem processes and multi-partner biological interactions. Research attention increased rapidly for tripartite symbiosis, fungal hyphae networks, root-derived carbon dynamics, and organic matter decomposition—topics that were minimally represented in the 2025 cohort but expanded to 6% of top-cited publications in 2026. Substantial momentum was also gained by ecological restoration and network stability, reflecting heightened interest in applying mycorrhizal ecology to habitat recovery and climate resilience. Conversely, baseline characterization metrics such as general soil pH profiling, metagenomic survey broadness, and single-species focal studies (such as Rhizophagus irregularis or generic keystone taxa) experienced relative declines, dropping from 8–12% frequency down to 4%. Overall, the field is evolving from descriptive diversity cataloging toward integrative, process-oriented frameworks that harness fungal networks for sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/mycorrhizal-fungi-and-plant-interactions/2026. Accessed 2026-07-23.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```