Premium
Ericoid plant species and Pinus sylvestris shape fungal communities in their roots and surrounding soil
Author(s) -
Sietiö OutiMaaria,
Tuomivirta Tero,
Santalahti Minna,
Kiheri Heikki,
Timonen Sari,
Sun Hui,
Fritze Hannu,
Heisalo Jussi
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1111/nph.15040
Subject(s) - biology , botany , vaccinium myrtillus , plant use of endophytic fungi in defense , ericaceae , endophyte , symbiosis , mycorrhiza , calluna , ectosymbiosis , ecology , genetics , bacteria
Summary Root‐colonizing fungi can form mycorrhizal or endophytic associations with plant roots, the type of association depending on the host. We investigated the differences and similarities of the fungal communities of three boreal ericoid plants and one coniferous tree, and identified the community structure of fungi utilizing photosynthates from the plants studied. The fungal communities of roots and soils of Vaccinium myrtillus , Vaccinium vitis‐idaea , Calluna vulgaris and Pinus sylvestris were studied in an 18‐month‐long experiment where the plants were grown individually in natural substrate. Photosynthates utilizing fungi were detected with DNA stable‐isotope probing using 13 CO 2 ( 13 C‐ DNA ‐ SIP ). The results indicated that the plants studied provide different ecological niches preferred by different fungal species. Those fungi which dominated the community in washed roots had also the highest 13 C‐uptake. In addition, a common root endophyte without confirmed mycorrhizal status also obtained 13 C from all the plants, indicating close plant‐association of this fungal species. We detect several fungal species inhabiting the roots of both ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal plants. Our results highlight that the ecological role of co‐occurrence of fungi with different life styles (e.g. mycorrhizal or endophytic) in plant root systems should be further investigated.