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Vertical niche differentiation of ectomycorrhizal hyphae in soil as shown by T‐RFLP analysis
Author(s) -
Dickie Ian A.,
Xu Bing,
Koide Roger T.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00535.x
Subject(s) - biology , hypha , litter , botany , ectomycorrhiza , niche , niche differentiation , generalist and specialist species , soil horizon , restriction fragment length polymorphism , ecology , mycorrhiza , symbiosis , soil water , habitat , polymerase chain reaction , genetics , bacteria , gene , biochemistry
Summary• Niche differentiation for different soil substrates has been proposed as a mechanism contributing to ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity. This hypothesis has been largely untestable because of a lack of techniques to study the in situ distribution of ectomycorrhizal hyphae.• We developed a technique involving soil DNA extraction, PCR and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T‐RFLP) analysis for species identification to investigate the vertical distribution of fungal hyphae in four distinct layers of the forest floor (lower litter, F‐layer, H‐layer, and B‐horizon) of a Pinus resinosa plantation.• Fungal communities differed markedly among the four layers. Cluster analysis suggested six different patterns of resource utilization: litter‐layer specialists, litter‐layer generalists, F‐layer, H‐layer, and B‐horizon species, and multilayer generalists. Known ectomycorrhizal species were found in all six clusters.• This spatial partitioning observed among ectomycorrhizal fungi along a single, relatively simple substrate‐resource gradient supports the niche differentiation hypothesis as an important mechanism contributing to ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity.