Twenty years of research on fungus-microbe-plant interactions on Lyman Glacier forefront – lessons learned and questions yet unanswered

Retreating glaciers and the periglacial areas they vacate for organismal colonization produce a harsh environment of extreme radiation, nutrient limitations, and temperature oscillations. They provide a model system for studying mechanisms that drive establishment and early assembly of communities. Here, we synthesize more than twenty years of research at the Lyman Glacier forefront in the North Cascades Mountains, comparing the results and conclusions for plant and microbial communities. Compared to plant communities, the trajectories and processes of microbial community development are difficult to deduce. However, the combination of high throughput sequencing, more revealing experimental designs, and analyses of phylogenetic community provide insights into mechanisms that shape early microbial communities. While the inoculum is likely randomly drawn from regional pools and accumulates over time, our data provide no support for increases in richness over time since deglaciation as is commonly observed for plant communities. Re-analyses of existing datasets suggest that microbial, particularly fungal, communities are insensitive to time since substrate exposure from underneath the retreating glacier but responsive to plant establishment both in biomass and community composition. Further research on functional aspects, organismal activity, or ecosystem services in early successional environments will provide deeper appreciation for the dynamics of these communities.Keywords: community assembly, glacier forefront, mycorrhizae, community divergence, propagule, community trajectory, establishment, community convergenc

Historical Biogeography and Diversification of Truffles in the Tuberaceae and Their Newly Identified Southern Hemisphere Sister Lineage

Truffles have evolved from epigeous (aboveground) ancestors in nearly every major lineage of fleshy fungi. Because accelerated rates of morphological evolution accompany the transition to the truffle form, closely related epigeous ancestors remain unknown for most truffle lineages. This is the case for the quintessential truffle genus Tuber, which includes species with socio-economic importance and esteemed culinary attributes. Ecologically, Tuber spp. form obligate mycorrhizal symbioses with diverse species of plant hosts including pines, oaks, poplars, orchids, and commercially important trees such as hazelnut and pecan. Unfortunately, limited geographic sampling and inconclusive phylogenetic relationships have obscured our understanding of their origin, biogeography, and diversification. To address this problem, we present a global sampling of Tuberaceae based on DNA sequence data from four loci for phylogenetic inference and molecular dating. Our well-resolved Tuberaceae phylogeny shows high levels of regional and continental endemism. We also identify a previously unknown epigeous member of the Tuberaceae - the South American cup-fungus Nothojafnea thaxteri (E.K. Cash) Gamundi. Phylogenetic resolution was further improved through the inclusion of a previously unrecognized Southern hemisphere sister group of the Tuberaceae. This morphologically diverse assemblage of species includes truffle (e.g. Gymnohydnotrya spp.) and non-truffle forms that are endemic to Australia and South America. Southern hemisphere taxa appear to have diverged more recently than the Northern hemisphere lineages. Our analysis of the Tuberaceae suggests that Tuber evolved from an epigeous ancestor. Molecular dating estimates Tuberaceae divergence in the late Jurassic (~156 million years ago), with subsequent radiations in the Cretaceous and Paleogene. Intra-continental diversification, limited long-distance dispersal, and ecological adaptations help to explain patterns of truffle evolution and biodiversity

Fungi and other items consumed by the blue-gray taildropper slug (Prophysaon coeruleum) and the papillose taildropper slug (Prophysaon dubium)

Volume: 45Start Page: 261End Page: 26

Morphological and molecular characterization of selected Ramaria mycorrhizae

Ramaria species are conspicuous mycorrhizal symbionts of conifers in the Pacific Northwest. Here we collected and identified sporocarps and associated ectomycorrhizae of Ramaria acrisiccescens Marr & Stuntz, R. cyaneigranosa Marr & Stuntz, R. sandracina Marr & Stuntz, R. celerivirescens Marr & Stuntz, and R. flavobrunnescens var. aromatica Marr & Stuntz. An internal transcribed spacer (ITS)- restriction fragment length polymorphism pattern was observed for each of the Ramaria species and used as a diagnostic tool to support the identification of mycorrhizae occurring in mats below the sporocarps. We provide a description of the ectomycorrhizae of Ramaria, which exhibit similar macro- and microscopic characteristics such as ramification pattern, coloration, abundance of  mycelial strands and emanating hyphae, mantle morphology and chemical reactions of mantle and mycelial strands with KOH, Fe SO4  and Melzer´s reagent. Sequences of the ITS region for each of the species are deposited in the Gen Bank.Fil: Nouhra, Eduardo Ramon. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Horton, Thomas R.. College of Enviromental Science and Forestry; Estados UnidosFil: Cazares, Efren. State University of Oregon; Estados UnidosFil: Castellano, Michael. United State Department of Agriculture; Estados Unido

Interaction of fungal sporocarp production with small mammal abundance and diet in Douglas-fir stands of the southern Cascade range

Small mammal population densities are highly variable across forest stands and landscapes. The species composition and abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) may influence the ability of forests to provide suitable habitat for small mammals. Identification and interpretation of changes in the abundance of these organisms, or in their inter-relationships due to experimental harvest, require that we first identify the patterns and potential causes of natural variability in the pre-harvest communities. Pretreatment data were gathered from the Watson Falls block of a green-tree retention experiment to establish baseline conditions. The six experimental treatments that comprise this block lie in two spatially distinct areas that differ in environment and forest composition. The initial variability in ENF, small mammals, and their relationships was documented. Three primary questions are addressed in this paper: (1) Are the abundance and species composition of EMF sporocarps similar between the two areas of the Watson Falls block? (2) How does sporocarp consumption vary among small mammal species and by area? (3) For common truffle genera, is sporocarp biomass correlated with the spore frequency of those genera in small mammal diets? The Watson Falls block was found to have spatial and temporal variation in EMF production, small mammal mycophagy, and small mammal abundance. However, truffles were consistently the primary food item in the diet of all three small mammal species in this study. Small mammals are potentially important agents of truffle dispersal into disturbed areas where EMF are locally extirpated. This study furthers knowledge of the role of small mammal mycophagy in the functioning of forest ecosystem

Interactions Among Prescribed Fire, Soil Attributes, Fungal Mats, and Mycorrhizal Fungus Fruiting Patterns in an Old-Growth \u3ci\u3ePinus ponderosa / Abies concolor\u3c/i\u3estand in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA

The first of its kind, Soil characteristics tend to occur as a suite, Pre-treatment patterns: a silver lining, Prescribed burn treatment effects on soil attributes, Fruiting patterns primarily influenced by soil C:N ratios, Fungal indicator guilds, Prescribed burn treatment effects on fungal fruiting patterns, Prescribed burn treatment effects on fungal mats, Summary and take-home message

Australasian Sequestrate Fungi 16. Gastrotylopilus, a synonym of Fistulinella

Volume: 18Start Page: 75End Page: 7

(2491) Proposal to conserve the name Rhizophagus with a conserved type (Fungi: Glomeromycota: Glomeraceae)

(2491) Proposal to conserve the name Rhizophagus with a conserved type (Fungi: Glomeromycota: Glomeraceae

Tuber aztecorum sp. nov., a truffle species from Mexico belonging to the Maculatum clade (Tuberaceae, Pezizales)

A new species of truffle, T. aztecorum, is described from central Mexico. Tuber aztecorum can be distinguished from other related Tuber species synoptically by a combination of morphological features including ascospore size, pellis cells with irregular thickness, cystidia, ascoma colour and associated host (Abies religiosa an endemic Abies species from central Mexico); sequence variation on the ITS rDNA also distinguishes T. aztecorum from related species. A phylogenetic analysis of the ITS rDNA demonstrates that T. aztecorum belongs to the Maculatum clade and is unique from other similar small, white-cream coloured Tuber species distributed in north-eastern Mexico such as T. castilloi and T. guevarai