# Fungal ecology in the age of 'omics

## TL;DR

This review discusses how modern 'omics technologies can improve our understanding of fungal ecology, especially in plant-fungal interactions, and calls for better reporting standards.

## Contribution

The paper advocates for standardized reporting in fungal meta'omic studies to enhance their impact on ecological research.

## Key findings

- Meta'omics can address key questions in belowground plant-fungal ecology.
- Analysis pipelines show both emerging consistencies and existing discrepancies.
- Standardized reporting is needed to maximize the benefits of meta'omic research.

## Abstract

The advancement of technology in recent decades has given us an unprecedented ability to observe the natural world. With modern sequencing and bioinformatics technologies, we can obtain more information about the microscopic world, and its interactions with the macroscopic world, than ever before. However, fungal studies that use meta'omic technologies have been sparse compared with bacterial and plant‐focused studies. In this review, we highlight the ways that meta'omics can help to address pressing questions in belowground plant‐fungal ecology, show consistencies that are emerging – and discrepancies that still exist – among analysis pipelines, and advocate for reporting standards that will allow meta'omic research to more fully benefit fungal ecology.