Population genomics reveals that within-fungus polymorphism is common and maintained in populations of the mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis.

ABSTRACT: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are symbionts of most plants, increasing plant growth and diversity. The model AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis (isolate DAOM 197198) exhibits low within-fungus polymorphism. In contrast, another study reported high within-fungus variability. Experiments with other R. irregularis isolates suggest that within-fungus genetic variation can affect the fungal phenotype and plant growth, highlighting the biological importance of such variation. We investigated whether there is evidence of differing levels of within-fungus polymorphism in an R. irregularis population. We genotyped 20 isolates using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing and developed novel approaches for characterizing polymorphism among haploid nuclei. All isolates exhibited higher within-i

SUBMITTER: Wyss T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5030683 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature