Kohout Petr, Tedersoo Leho
Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, 50411, Tartu, Estonia.
Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 252 43, Průhonice, Czech Republic.
Mycorrhiza. 2017 May;27(4):397-406. doi: 10.1007/s00572-017-0760-5. Epub 2017 Jan 12.
Ericoid mycorrhiza represents a key adaptation of the Ericaceae plants to facilitate their establishment in harsh conditions. The Ericaceae are a large family of flowering plants, with global distribution. However, our current knowledge about the ericoid mycorrhizal fungal diversity and ecology largely relates to the Northern Hemisphere. Our study focused on the assembly of root-associated fungal (RAF) communities of Erica dominans in two types of microhabitats of contrasting moisture along an elevation gradient in Drakensberg mountains in South Africa. RAF communities were determined by 454-sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA. The majority of RAF showed affinity to the orders Helotiales, Pezizales, and Pleosporales. Microhabitat type as well as elevation had significant but weak effect on RAF community composition. We identified two putative ericoid mycorrhizal fungi, the ecological niches of which were differentiated between the studied microhabitats. Our study also provides one of the first comprehensive data about RAF communities of Ericaceae on African continent and shows the occurrence of the most studied ericoid mycorrhizal fungus Pezoloma ericae (belonging to P. ericae aggregate) in roots of Ericaceae host plant in Africa.
欧石楠类菌根是杜鹃花科植物的一种关键适应性特征，有助于它们在恶劣条件下生长。杜鹃花科是一个庞大的开花植物科，分布于全球。然而，我们目前对欧石楠类菌根真菌多样性和生态学的了解主要集中在北半球。我们的研究聚焦于南非德拉肯斯堡山脉沿海拔梯度的两种水分条件形成对比的微生境中，优势欧石楠（Erica dominans）根系相关真菌（RAF）群落的组装。通过对核糖体DNA的内部转录间隔区（ITS）进行454测序来确定RAF群落。大多数RAF与柔膜菌目、盘菌目和格孢腔菌目有亲缘关系。微生境类型以及海拔对RAF群落组成有显著但微弱的影响。我们鉴定出两种假定的欧石楠类菌根真菌，它们在研究的微生境之间生态位有所分化。我们的研究还提供了关于非洲大陆杜鹃花科RAF群落的首批全面数据之一，并表明在非洲杜鹃花科寄主植物的根系中存在研究最多的欧石楠类菌根真菌艾瑞卡盘菌（Pezoloma ericae，属于艾瑞卡盘菌复合体）。
