title: Mycorrhizal fungi associated with Monotropastrum humile (Ericaceae) in central Japan.
abstract: We explored the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with Monotropastrum humile in the central part of Japan's main island. We collected 103 M. humile individuals from 12 sites with various forest types. We analyzed the DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region from fungal and plant nuclear ribosomal DNAs to assess the genetic diversity of the fungi associated with M. humile roots and to position the plant with respect to known Monotropoideae groups, respectively. The plants formed a monophyletic clade with other members of M. humile but were separated from M. humile var. glaberrimum and other monotropes (97% bootstrap support). Of the 50 fungal phylotypes, 49 had best matches with the Russulales, and the other had highest similarity with the Thelephoraceae. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that M. humile roots have a highly specialized association with fungal partners in the Russulaceae. Moreover, a few fungal phylotypes from the M. humile roots had positions neighboring those from Monotropa uniflora roots. These results indicated that the genetic diversity of mycorrhizal fungi of M. humile was highly specific to the Russulaceae, but with high diversity within that family, and that the fungi associated with M. humile differ from those associated with M. uniflora.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Forest Pathology and Mycology, Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University, Kurimamachiya 1577, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan. m-yosuke@bio.mie-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Bioresources, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okochi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiyoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Forest Pathology and Mycology, Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University, Kurimamachiya 1577, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichiro
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D029791:Ericaceae / Q000382:microbiology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D007564:Japan; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity