Quantitative evaluation of protocorm growth and fungal colonization in Bletilla striata (Orchidaceae) reveals less-productive symbiosis with a non-native symbiotic fungus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In nature, orchid plants depend completely on symbiotic fungi for their nutrition at the germination and the subsequent seedling (protocorm) stages. However, only limited quantitative methods for evaluating the orchid-fungus interactions at the protocorm stage are currently available, which greatly constrains our understanding of the symbiosis. Here, we aimed to improve and integrate quantitative evaluations of the growth and fungal colonization in the protocorms of a terrestrial orchid, Blettila striata, growing on a plate medium.

Results

We achieved both symbiotic and asymbiotic germinations for the terrestrial orchid B. striata. The protocorms produced by the two germination methods grew almost synchronously for the first three weeks. At week four, however, the

SUBMITTER: Yamamoto T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5320772 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature