title: Impact of metal pollution on fungal diversity and community structures.
abstract: The impact of metal pollution on plant communities has been studied extensively in the past, but little is known about the effects of metal pollution on fungal communities that occur in metal-polluted soils. Metal-tolerant ecotypes of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Suillus luteus are frequently found in pioneer pine forests in the Campine region in Belgium on metal-polluted soils. We hypothesized that metal pollution would play an important role in shaping below-ground fungal communities that occur in these soils and that Suillus luteus would be a dominant player. To test these hypotheses, the fungal communities in a young pine plantation in soil polluted with zinc, and cadmium were studied using 454 amplicon pyrosequencing. Results show that zinc, cadmium and soil organic matter content were strongly correlated with the fungal community composition, but no effects on fungal diversity were observed. As hypothesized, S. luteus was found to be a dominant member of the studied fungal communities. However, other dominant fungal species, such as Sistotrema sp., Wilcoxina mikolae and Cadophora finlandica were found as well. Their presence in metal-polluted sites is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michiel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8727-0999
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Op De Beeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S), Laboratory for Process Microbial Ecology and Bioinspirational Management, KU Leuven, Campus De Nayer, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lievens
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S), Laboratory for Process Microbial Ecology and Bioinspirational Management, KU Leuven, Campus De Nayer, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Busschaert
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rineau
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smits
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jaco
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vangronsveld
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology Group, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Colpaert
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000378:metabolism; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000378:metabolism*; D001530:Belgium; D044822:Biodiversity; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism*; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D028223:Pinus / Q000382:microbiology; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium; D015032:Zinc