Expanding the understanding of a forest ectomycorrhizal community by combining root tips and fruiting bodies: a case study of Tuber magnatum stands

Abstract

Plant communities guarantee the functionality of terrestrial ecosystems, but they, in turn, depend on the microorganisms with which they are associated, especially those living in soil and roots. They provide most of the nitrogen and phosphorus taken up by plants, in temperate and boreal forests (Van der Heijden et al., 2008). Conservative estimates indicate that about 20,000 species of plants are completely dependent on soil symbiotic microorganisms for growth and survival, indicating the importance of soil microbes as regulators of plant richness on Earth (Van der Heijden et al., 2008).Among the various types of symbioses, the ectomycorrhizas (ECMs), which affect mainly the forest formations of temperate areas, are usually produced by fungal species capable of forming fruiting bodies (FBs) (Vogt et al., 1992). In the past, the structure of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities was studied by FB surveys; this was then replaced by or coupled with root tip morphological analyses (Pacioni et al., 2001;Ashkannejhad and Horton, 2006). Molecular tools have been introduced and perfected over the past decades (Gardes et al., 1991;Gardes and Bruns, 1993), allowing for the identification, at least as a DNA sequence, of cryptic or nonfruiting ECM taxa. Molecular identification of ECMs is becoming the most common approach to study ECM communities in simplex and complex ecological systems (Mühlmann et al., 2008, Urban et al., 2008. Molecular characterization of ECMs coupled with FB surveying was also applied in several cases to study ECM communities. This double approach, in primary successional settings, makes ECM assemblages simple and gives a good correspondence between above and below ground ECM fungal communities (Nara et al., 2003); the ECM community is, in fact, dominated by a limited set of species that, after initial colonization, readily form sporocarps to disperse their spores to surrounding areas to widen their distribution (Nara, 2008). In contrast, in mature natural stands, there is a pervasive disconnection between aboveand below-ground ECM fungal communities (Gardes and Bruns, 1996). Smith et al. (2007) suggest that, in order to reach a complete overlap between FB and ECM fungal

Sustainable cultivation of the white truffle (Tuber magnatum) requires ecological understanding

“…In terms of elevation, the significant relationship shows that the more northerly the sites are, the lower they are to sea level ( r 2 = 0.42, p < 0.01), suggesting similar climatic conditions for WT growth. These are mainly determined by temperature (Miyamoto et al 2018 ) related to the elevation of the sites, which ranges from < 100 m asl in Serbia and southern Hungary (Marjanović et al 2010 ; Büntgen et al 2019a ) to ~ 1000 m asl in central Italy (Iotti et al 2012 ; 2014 ; Leonardi et al 2013 ; Lalli et al 2015 ). Note, however, that Fig.…”

“…The remaining host plants with a relative abundance < 10% are represented by Hop hornbeam ( Ostrya carpinifolia ), hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus and C. orientalis ), linden ( Tilia platyphyllos , T. cordata , and T. vulgaris ), and hazel ( Corylus avellana ). The last few percent of all known host plants is represented by five species, all from different genera: Abies alba , Alnus cordata , Fagus sylvatica , Pyrus pyraster , and Ulmus minor (for the host species listed see Supplementary Data and Caramiello 1968 ; Montacchini 1968 ; Montacchini and Caramielo 1968 ; Lulli et al 1991 ; Panini et al 1991 ; Bragato et al 1992 ; Lulli et al 1992 ; Mirabella et al 1992 ; Lorenzelli et al 1996 ; Hall et al 1998 ; Rubini et al 2001 ; Mello et al 2005 ; Bertini et al 2006 ; Bragato et al 2010 ; Ciaschetti et al 2010 ; Di Massimo et al 2010 ; Donnini et al 2010 ; Gregori et al 2010 ; Pavarino et al 2010 ; Iotti et al 2012 ; Piattoni et al 2012 ; Christopoulos et al 2013 ; Leonardi et al 2013 ; Iotti et al 2014 ; Salerni et al 2014 ; Lalli et al 2015 ; Murat et al 2018 ; Vita et al 2018 ; Büntgen et al 2019a , b ; Gregorčič et al 2020 ; Petrella et al 2020 ). Note, however, that the relative abundance of host plants is biased by those publications that have revealed their existence, and not all WT-host plant combinations have been confirmed by molecular identification of both partners in WT mycorrhizas.…”

Characterizing the Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Community of Whitebark Pine in Interior British Columbia: Mature Trees, Natural Regeneration and Planted Seedlings

“…Fruiting body (mushroom) collections and sequencing of soil samples have been dominant methods for documenting the community (Mohatt et al, 2008;Trusty and Cripps, 2011). Fruiting body surveys can be poor proxies of the ECMF communities below ground (Gardes and Bruns, 1996;Durall et al, 2006;Lalli et al, 2015), though recent studies in fungal ecology (in particular in wood inhabiting fungi) demonstrate that fruiting body surveys can be comparable or complimentary to highthroughput sequencing and metabarcoding (Ovaskainen et al, 2013;Frøslev et al, 2019;Saine et al, 2020;Heine et al, 2021). ECMF composition can also follow successional patterns and change with tree age/life stage (Glassman et al, 2017b;Koizumi et al, 2018).…”