Interactions among mycorrhizal fungi enhance the early development of a Mediterranean orchid.

Calevo, Jacopo; Duffy, Karl J.

Interactions among mycorrhizal fungi enhance the early development of a Mediterranean orchid.

Download

Name

s00572-023-01118-4.pdf

Description

visibility:open

Size

1.37 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (CRC64NVME)

QiVXqRww4nM=

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Calevo, Jacopo

ORCID

Duffy, Karl J.

ORCID

Date published

July 12, 2023

Abstract

Orchids depend on mycorrhizal fungi to germinate from seed. While multiple orchid mycorrhizal (OrM) taxa are often found associated with adult orchids, the relative contribution of particular OrM taxa to germination and early orchid development is poorly understood. We isolated 28 OrM fungi associated with the Mediterranean orchid and tested the efficiency of five isolates on germination and early development, four belonging to the species complex and one belonging to . Co-cultures of varying two-way and three-way combinations of OrM isolates were used in vitro to compare the simultaneous effect on seed germination rate with monocultures. We then tested whether, when given initial priority over other fungi, particular OrM taxa were more effective during the early stages of development. Seedlings germinated with different isolates were transferred to a growth chamber, and either the same or different isolate was added 45 days later. After 3 months, the number of roots, length of the longest root, and tuber area were measured. All OrM fungi resulted in seed germination; however, lower germination rates were associated with the isolate compared to the tulasnelloid isolates. There was significant decreased germination in co-culture experiments when the isolate was added. Despite being associated with reduced germination rates, the addition of the isolate to the seedlings germinated with tulasnelloid strains resulted in significant increased tuber size. Although associates with many OrM taxa, these results show that OrM fungi may play different roles during orchid germination and early development. Even when given initial priority, other fungi may colonize developing orchids and interact to influence early orchid development.

Project(s)

Priority 1: Ecosystem Stewardship

Funder

Funder name	Awards
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy	CRUI-CARE Agreement - Junior Starting Investigator Grant (Programma STAR)
Compagnia di San Paolo, Italy	Junior Starting Investigator Grant (Programma STAR)