title: Molecular identification of the mycorrhizal fungi of the epiparasitic plant Monotropastrum humile var. glaberrimum (Ericaceae).
abstract: Achlorophyllous monotropoid plants (Monotropoideae, Ericaceae) are epiparasites that obtain all of their carbon from their host plants via connections with mycorrhizal fungi. The mycorrhizal fungi of the epiparasitic monotropoid Monotropastrum humile var. glaberrima were identified based on mitochondrial, large ribosomal DNA sequences, and were compared with those of another variety, M. humile var. humile. The fungi that inhabit M. humile var. glaberrimum belong to the Thelephoraceae, whereas that of M. humile var. humile is a member of the Russulaceae. Two explanations are possible for this phenomenon: a misunderstanding of the taxonomic position of M. humile var. glaberrimum, or a change in the fungal partner within the Monotropastrum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsukaya
mesh_terms: D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D029791:Ericaceae / Q000382:microbiology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D038821:Mycorrhizae; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal