Variation in mycorrhizal associations with tulasnelloid fungi among populations of five Dactylorhiza species.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Orchid species rely on mycorrhizal symbioses with fungi to complete their life cycle. Although there is mounting evidence that orchids can associate with several fungi from different clades or families, less is known about the actual geographic distribution of these fungi and how they are distributed across different orchid species within a genus.

Methodology/principal findings

We investigated among-population variation in mycorrhizal associations in five species of the genus Dactylorhiza (D. fuchsii, D. incarnata, D. maculata, D. majalis and D. praetermissa) using culture-independent detection and identification techniques enabling simultaneous detection of multiple fungi in a single individual. Mycorrhizal specificity, determined as the number of fungal operatio

SUBMITTER: Jacquemyn H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3411701 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature