Mycorrhizal compatibility and symbiotic reproduction of Gavilea australis, an endangered terrestrial orchid from south Patagonia

FRACCHIA, S.; ARANDA-RICKERT, A.; FLACHSLAND, E.; TERADA, G.; SEDE, S. M.

MYCORRHIZA

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2014 vol. 24 p. 627 - 634

0940-6360

Gavilea australis is a terrestrial orchid endemicfrom insular south Argentina and Chile. Meeting aspects ofmycorrhizal fungi identity and compatibility in this orchidspecies is essential for propagation and conservation purposes.These knowledge represent also a first approach to elucidatethe mycorrhizal specificity of this species. In order to evaluateboth the mycorrhizal compatibility and the symbiotic seedgermination of G. australis, we isolated and identified its rootendophytic fungal strains as well as those from two sympatricspecies: Gavilea lutea and Codonorchis lessonii. In addition,we tested two other strains isolated from allopatric terrestrialorchid species from central Argentina. All fungal strainsformed coilings and pelotons inside protocorms and promoted,at varying degrees, seed germination, and protocorm developmentuntil seedlings had two to three leaves. Theseresults suggest a low mycorrhizal specificity of G. australisand contribute to a better knowledge of the biology of thisorchid aswell as of other sympatric Patagonian orchid species,all of them currently under serious risk of extinction.