Screening Commercial Peat and Peat-based Products for the Presence of Ericoid Mycorrhizae

Abstract Pieris floribunda (Pursh) Benth. & Hook., a known host of ericoid fungi, was used as a model plant to investigate the presence of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi in select peat and peat-based products. After growing in each medium for 75 days, roots of seedlings were examined and average percent colonization was determined for each sample. Results indicate that these fungi are present in the majority of peat and peat-based media tested. Seedlings grown in some of the selected media had a greater percentage of root cells colonized by ericoid mycorrhizae than others in the study.

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564 Screening Commercial Peat and Peat-based Products for the Presence of Ericoid Mycorrhizae

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.35.3.493b ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 493B-493

Author(s):

Mark Starrett

Keyword(s):

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Fungal Growth ◽

Vaccinium Corymbosum ◽

Growth Characteristics ◽

Northeastern United States ◽

Root Cells ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizae ◽

Seedling Roots ◽

Test Plants ◽

Ericoid Fungi

A study was conducted to investigate the presence of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi in select peat and peat-based products. Vaccinium corymbosum, a known host of ericoid fungi, was used as a model plant. Peat and peat-based products were obtained from all major sources that supply the northeastern United States. Seedling roots were examined and average percent colonization was determined for each sample. Results indicate that these fungi are present in the majority of peat and peat-based media tested. Seedlings grown in some of the selected media exhibited an increased percentage of colonized root cells. Mycorrhizal fungi colonizing roots of test plants were isolated. These fungi exhibited typical ericoid fungal growth characteristics.

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Ericoid mycorrhizal fungi: cellular and molecular bases of their interactions with the host plant

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b95-296 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 73 (S1) ◽

pp. 557-568 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Silvia Perotto ◽

Renato Peretto ◽

Antonella Faccio ◽

Andrea Schubert ◽

Paola Bonfante ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Host Plants ◽

Molecular Techniques ◽

Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes ◽

High Genetic Diversity ◽

Degrading Enzymes ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizae ◽

Ericoid Fungi

A number of soil-borne fungi are able to form typical ericoid mycorrhizae with plants belonging to Ericales. Together with Hymenoscyphus ericae, the first isolate from roots of ericaceous plants, other fungal species belonging to the genus Oidiodendron and many sterile mycelia have been recognized as mycorrhizal by several authors. A high genetic diversity was even found when a population of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi isolated from a single plant of Calluna vulgaris was analysed with morphological and molecular techniques. Ericoid fungi have a relevant saprotrophic potential, as they can degrade several organic polymers present in the soil matrices. Different cell wall degrading enzymes, which are part of this arsenal and are produced in vitro by several ericoid fungi, have been investigated biochemically. Immunocytochemical studies on the production of pectin degrading enzymes during the infection process of host and non-host plants suggest that regulation mechanisms for the production of cell wall degrading enzymes in vivo may be a crucial step for the establishment of successful mycorrhiza with host plants. Key words: ericoid mycorrhizae, cell wall degrading enzymes, polygalacturonase, DNA-RAPD techniques.

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Diversity and abundance of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi of Gaultheria shallon on forest clearcuts

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b96-042 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 74 (3) ◽

pp. 337-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Guoping Xiao ◽

Shannon M. Berch

Keyword(s):

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Forest Types ◽

Gaultheria Shallon ◽

Cortical Cells ◽

Acremonium Strictum ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizae ◽

Arbutoid Mycorrhizae ◽

Scanning Electron

Roots of salal (Gaultheria shallon Pursh) collected from forest clearcuts were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy, and the ericoid mycorrhizal fungi were isolated and identified. Heavy colonization of typical ericoid mycorrhizae was present in and restricted to the first of the two layers of root cortical cells. Neither ectomycorrhizae nor arbutoid mycorrhizae were observed. In the field, over 85% of the roots and 90% of the cortical cells within colonized roots were colonized. One hundred and seventy-five of the 278 fungal isolates from salal roots formed ericoid mycorrhizae with salal in the laboratory, and these isolates were grouped into four species based on spore formation and cultural characteristics: Oidiodendron griseum Robak, Acremonium strictwn W. Gams, and two unidentified, nonsporulating fungal species. The association in the laboratory between A. strictum and salal was atypical in that the fungus improved the growth of salal seedlings but was slow to colonize roots and occasionally grew and even sporulated on the shoots. No differences in percent colonization or diversity of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi were found in salal growing on clearcuts from two different forest types. Keywords: Gaultheria shallon, Oidiodendron griseum, Acremonium strictum, ericoid mycorrhizal fungi.

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In Vitro Colonization of Micropropagated Pieris floribunda by Ericoid Mycorrhizae. II. Effects on Acclimatization and Growth

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.36.2.357 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 357-359 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mark C. Starrett ◽

Frank A. Blazich ◽

Steven R. Shafer ◽

Larry F. Grand

Keyword(s):

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Hymenoscyphus Ericae ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizae ◽

In Vitro Inoculation

Inoculation of microshoots of Pieris floribunda (Pursh ex Sims) Benth. and Hook. (mountain andromeda) with isolates of Hymenoscyphus ericae (Read) Korf and Kernan ericoid mycorrhizal fungi stimulated growth during 1 month in vitro. However, no benefits were apparent after 3 months in a greenhouse. Acclimatization of plantlets of P. floribunda to greenhouse conditions following in vitro inoculation improved survival (42% vs. 16% for controls). The protocol reported herein is similar to procedures utilized currently for micropropagation of various ericaceous species and has potential to improve plantlet survival during acclimatization.

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Isolation and identification of hydroxamate siderophores of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi

BioMetals ◽

10.1007/bf01079698 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 51-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Kurt Haselwandter ◽

Barbara Dobernigg ◽

Werner Beck ◽

G�nther Jung ◽

Alexander Cansier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Isolation And Identification ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Hydroxamate Siderophores

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Ericoid mycorrhizal diversity increases with soil age and progressive phosphorus limitation across a 4.1 million-year chronosequence

10.1101/2020.08.27.270413 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Devin R. Leopold ◽

Kabir G. Peay ◽

Peter M. Vitousek ◽

Tadashi Fukami

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Nutrient Limitation ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Species Turnover ◽

Phosphorus Limitation ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Direct Role ◽

Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Soil Age

AbstractEricaceous plants rely on ericoid mycorrhizal fungi for nutrient acquisition. However, the factors that affect the composition and structure of these fungal communities remain largely unknown. Here, we use a 4.1-myr soil chronosequence in Hawaii to test the hypothesis that changes in nutrient availability with soil age determine the diversity and species composition of fungi associated with ericoid roots. We sampled roots of a native Hawaiian plant, Vaccinium calycinum, and used DNA metabarcoding to quantify changes in fungal diversity and species composition. We also used a fertilization experiment at the youngest and oldest sites to assess the importance of nutrient limitation. We found an increase in diversity and a clear pattern of species turnover across the chronosequence, driven largely by putative ericoid mycorrhizal fungi. Fertilization with nitrogen at the youngest site and phosphorus at the oldest site reduced total fungal diversity, suggesting a direct role of nutrient limitation. Our results also reveal the presence of novel fungal species associated with Hawaiian Ericaceae and suggest a greater importance of phosphorus availability for communities of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi than is generally assumed.

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