Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Protein Degradation Ability Predicted by Soil Organic Nitrogen Availability.

ABSTRACT: In temperate and boreal forest ecosystems, nitrogen (N) limitation of tree metabolism is alleviated by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. As forest soils age, the primary source of N in soil switches from inorganic (NH4 (+) and NO3 (-)) to organic (mostly proteins). It has been hypothesized that ECM fungi adapt to the most common N source in their environment, which implies that fungi growing in older forests would have greater protein degradation abilities. Moreover, recent results for a model ECM fungal species suggest that organic N uptake requires a glucose supply. To test the generality of these hypotheses, we screened 55 strains of 13 Suillus species with different ecological preferences for their in vitro protein degradation abilities. Suillus species preferentially occurring in mature fo

SUBMITTER: Rineau F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4771325 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature