We collected mature tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehder) roots from five stands to characterize the relative abundance and taxonomic richness of root-associated fungi. Fungi were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cloning, and sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S rDNA. A total of 382 cloned PCR inserts were successfully sequenced and then clas...

Mycorrhizal fungi play a critical role in nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. They improve plant growth and survival through a mutualistic relationship in which photosynthates are exchanged for increased access to water and nutrients. Because the benefits realized are not equal among different plant–fungal species combinations, mycorrhizal fungi may help govern plant community structure an...

Mycorrhizal and saprotrophic (SAP) fungi are essential to terrestrial element cycling due to their uptake of mineral nutrients and decomposition of detritus. Linking these ecological roles to specific fungi is necessary to improve our understanding of global nutrient cycling, fungal ecophysiology, and forest ecology. Using discriminant analyses of nitrogen (delta(15)N) and carbon (delta(13)C) i...

Jordan R. Mayor,* Edward A. G. Schuur and Terry W. Henkel Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA *Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract Mycorrhizal and saprotrophic (SAP) fungi are essential to terrestrial element cycling due to their uptake of mine...

In forest ecosystems, fungal mats are functionally important in nutrient and water uptake in litter and wood decomposition processes, in carbon resource allocation, soil weathering and in cycling of soil resources. Fungal mats can occur abundantly in forests and are widely distributed globally. We sampled ponderosa pine/white fir and mountain hemlock/noble fir communities at Crater Lake Nationa...

Ectomycorrhizal fungi occur in remarkably species-rich assemblages. One of the prevailing hypotheses to explain this diversity is niche differentiation; by occupying distinct ecological niches within a site, multiple fungal species are able to co-occur (Bruns, 1995). In this issue of New Phytologist (pp. 000–000), Ishida and colleagues make a significant contribution to our understanding of nic...

Although recent research indicates that herbivores interact with plant-associated microbes in complex ways, few studies have examined these interactions using a community approach. For example, the impact of herbivory on the community structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) is not well known. The influence of host plant genetics on EMF community composition is also poorly understood. We used a...

Previous reports of sequences of Sebacinales (basal Hymenomycetes) from ericoid mycorrhizas raised the question as to whether Sebacinales are common mycorrhizal associates of Ericaceae, which are usually considered to associate with ascomycetes. Here, we sampled 239 mycorrhizas from 36 ericoid mycorrhizal species across the world (Vaccinioideae and Ericoideae) and 361 mycorrhizas from four spec...

Botanists and mycologists have long debated the potential for full myco-heterotrophy in the achlorophyllous Pyrola aphylla (Ericaceae). Here we address the ecophysiology of this putative myco-heterotroph and two other closely related green species in the tribe Pyroleae (Pyrola picta and Chimaphila umbellata). The stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (delta13C and delta15N) were analysed from ...