America's Largest Mycorrhizal Fungi Library Faces Federal Cuts Funding Crisis
- Gauri Khanna
- 57 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Too long to read? Go for the highlights below.
The International Collection of Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (INVAM) at the University of Kansas houses 900 isolates representing 25% of all described AMF species worldwide
The collection requires £120,000 annually to maintain living cultures that support research into fungi essential to 92% of terrestrial plants
Federal budget cuts threaten the collection's survival, prompting researchers to launch a public fundraising campaign through university endowment
Fungi collections rarely generate headlines. Yet the survival of a modest facility at the University of Kansas carries implications for global agriculture, ecological restoration, and scientific understanding of plant-fungi relationships that have evolved over millions of years.
A Unique Global Resource Under Threat
The International Collection of Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, known as INVAM, maintains 900 living isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: microorganisms that form obligate symbiotic relationships with plant roots. These fungi cannot survive without plants, which supply them with carbon and sugars. In exchange, the fungi extend the effective root system, improving nutrient and water uptake.
Unlike yeast or mushroom-producing species, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi cannot be stored indefinitely. Each isolate requires cultivation at least once annually, sometimes twice, on living host plants. The operation runs 365 days per year in greenhouses equipped with backup electrical systems. Without continuous labour-intensive maintenance, the cultures perish permanently.
Associate researcher Terra Lubin dedicates 15-25 hours weekly to collection management alongside her research duties. Distinguished professor Jim Bever and associate specialist Peggy Schultz lead the curation effort, which they relocated from Florida to Kansas in 2023 using National Science Foundation funding.
Scientific and Practical Applications
INVAM represents approximately 25% of the world's 350 described arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi species, with isolates sourced from 50 countries across all continents except Antarctica. Assistant research professor Liz Koziol noted these fungi support nearly everything humans eat (corn, soya, wheat, various fruits) making them fundamental to terrestrial food systems.
The collection serves researchers worldwide who purchase spore cultures for diverse applications. Koziol herself employs INVAM specimens for prairie restoration work, transforming former grazing lands near Lawrence, Kansas, into native grasslands. Such restoration requires matching appropriate fungal strains to specific plant communities and soil conditions: precisely the diversity INVAM preserves.
Research using the collection has practical ramifications beyond academic study. Koziol's analysis of commercial mycorrhizal products sold in the United States revealed 80-90% contain either non-viable spores or no spores whatsoever. Similar studies in other countries yielded comparable results. Bever characterised this gap between commercialisation and science as illustrating the collection's value: without improved knowledge distribution, effective commercialisation of these valuable microbes remains impossible.
Funding Precarity and Political Context
The collection requires approximately £120,000 annually, predominantly for personnel costs. As a public research institution, the university funds infrastructure (cold rooms, greenhouses, backup powe) but not salaries. This model, standard across American research universities for seven decades, depends on competitive federal grants.
Current political tensions surrounding National Science Foundation budgets compound inherent funding uncertainty. Proposed cuts exceeding $300 million threaten research infrastructure nationwide. Bever noted the system that built America's research capacity now faces unclear federal support.
With their latest NSF funding exhausted, the team sustains operations temporarily through culture sales revenue whilst preparing their next grant application. They recently launched a fundraising campaign through KU Endowment, seeking public donations to establish baseline funding independent of federal appropriations.
Bever stated plainly that no replacement exists for INVAM. Its loss would constitute a tragedy for science and possibilities for a more sustainable world. Whether public fundraising can substitute for institutional research support remains an open question: one with consequences extending far beyond Kansas.
