Ectomycorrhizal Diversity Associated with Tanoaks (Lithocarpus densiflorus)

Nicholas Kordesch, Sarah Bergemann, and Matteo Garbelotto, University of California Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, 301 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720; (510) 643-4282; kordesch@nature.berkeley.edu

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are important symbionts of many temperate plant species. Phytophthora ramorum has caused widespread mortality of tanoaks along California’s coastal regions. Since tanoaks form ectomycorrhizal associations, local extinction may impact ectomycorrhizal symbionts with a narrow host range. This study aims to identify the predominant ectomycorrhizal lineages on tanoak and determine the relative abundance of taxa. To determine the community composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi, 15 plots were established in tanoak stands near the town of Whitethorn, California. Root tips were sorted from soil core sections of equal volume, bulked and amplified using general primers that target the ITS region and a portion of the 28s rDNA. To identify unique taxa, melt temperature profiles were preformed for 80 PCR products cloned from each plot. Samples with unique melt temperature profiles were sequenced to differentiate taxa. With over 400 ITS sequences, 102 ectomycorrhizal taxa were detected. Taxa with the broadest spatial distribution included Cenococcum geophilum, Lactarius, Phialaphora, Russula, and Tomentella. This is the first comprehensive study of the ectomycorrhizal composition of tanoak. Information collected from this study can be used as baseline information for future studies to investigate the impacts of P. ramorum on the ectomycorrhizal fungi of tanoak.

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