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Intra‐species genetic variability drives carbon metabolism and symbiotic host interactions in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus microcarpus
Author(s) -
Plett Krista L.,
Kohler Annegret,
Lebel Teresa,
Singan Vasanth R.,
Bauer Diane,
He Guifen,
Ng Vivian,
Grigoriev Igor V.,
Martin Francis,
Plett Jonathan M.,
Anderson Ian C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.15320
Subject(s) - biology , pisolithus , host (biology) , fungus , symbiosis , ectomycorrhiza , ecosystem , ecology , botany , mycorrhiza , genetics , bacteria
Summary Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are integral to boreal and temperate forest ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling. ECM fungi, however, originate from diverse saprotrophic lineages and the impacts of genetic variation across species, and especially within a given ECM species, on function and interactions with the environment is not well understood. Here, we explore the extent of intra‐species variation between four isolates of the ECM fungus Pisolithus microcarpus , in terms of gene regulation, carbon metabolism and growth, and interactions with a host, Eucalyptus grandis . We demonstrate that, while a core response to the host is maintained by all of the isolates tested, they have distinct patterns of gene expression and carbon metabolism, resulting in the differential expression of isolate‐specific response pathways in the host plant. Together, these results highlight the importance of using a wider range of individuals within a species to understand the broader ecological roles of ECM fungi and their host interactions.