Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities associated to Nothofagus species in Northern Patagonia

NOUHRA, EDUARDO; URCELAY, CARLOS; LONGO, MARÍA SILVANA; TEDERSOO, LEHO

MYCORRHIZA

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2013 vol. 23 p. 487 - 496

0940-6360

Ectomycorrhizal fungi constitute an important component of soil biota in Nothofagus forests in Patagonia. However, ectomycorrhizal fungal community is poorly known in this region. Here, we assess biodiversity and com- munity compositions of ectomycorrhizal fungal species asso- ciated with Nothofagus dombeyi, N. obliqua and N. alpina. We selected three monospecific Nothofagus forest sites for each species within the boundaries of the Lanin National Park in Northern Patagonia. Ectomycorrhizal fungal species were identified based on morphotyping and rDNA (ITS and 28S rDNA) sequence analysis using both universal and taxon- specific primers. Contrary to previous studies on congeneric host trees, our results showed no significant differences among Nothofagus forest types in terms of fungal biodiversity and community composition. However, altitude had a strong effect on the structure of the ectomycorrhizal fungal commu- nity associated with Nothofagus spp.