Stayin' alive: survival of mycorrhizal fungal propagules from 6-yr-old forest soil

Spores and sclerotia are the main propagules that allow fungi to persist through unfavorable conditions and disperse into new environments. Despite their importance, very little is known about their longevity and dormancy, especially in ectomycorrhizal fungi. To assess the viability of ectomycorrhiz...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fungal ecology 2012-12, Vol.5 (6), p.741-746
Main Authors: Nguyen, Nhu H., Hynson, Nicole A., Bruns, Thomas D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
baiting
Dormancy
ectomycorrhizae
Ectomycorrhizal fungi
forest soils
fungal spores
Indexing in process
inoculum
Laccaria proxima
Longevity
mycorrhizal fungi
Pinus muricata
Rhizopogon
sclerotia
seedlings
Spore bank
Suillus
Symbiosis
Thelephora terrestris
viability
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Summary:Spores and sclerotia are the main propagules that allow fungi to persist through unfavorable conditions and disperse into new environments. Despite their importance, very little is known about their longevity and dormancy, especially in ectomycorrhizal fungi. To assess the viability of ectomycorrhizal fungal spores in forest soil, we collected and buried non-sterile forest soil, in pots, in the field distant from an inoculum source. After 6yr, a subset of this soil was assayed for viable spores by baiting the fungi with Bishop pine (Pinus muricata) seedlings. Our results show that the three most frequent colonizers in year 1 continued to colonize significant percentages of seedlings in year 6: Wilcoxina mikolae (77%), Rhizopogon vulgaris (13%) and Suillus brevipes (9%). While three species that colonized low percentages of seedlings in year 1, Suillus pungens (1%), Rhizopogon salebrosus (2%), and Thelephora terrestris (5%) were not recovered in year 6. Laccaria proxima, a species not seen in year 1, was recovered on a single seedling in year 6. This is the first report of long-term survival of S. brevipes and W. mikolae. Our results reveal a more complete picture of ectomycorrhizal fungal spore longevity in soil spore banks. ► We assessed the viability of ectomycorrhizal fungal spores in 6-yr-old forest soils. ► One ascomycete and three basidiomycete species were recovered from the 6-yr-old soil. ► This is the longest spore viability period recorded for these species. ► We discussed spore bank potentials of these species in forest ecosystems.
ISSN:1754-5048
DOI:10.1016/j.funeco.2012.05.006