title: Lack of host specificity leads to independent assortment of dipterocarps and ectomycorrhizal fungi across a soil fertility gradient.
abstract: Plants interact with a diversity of microorganisms, and there is often concordance in their community structures. Because most community-level studies are observational, it is unclear if such concordance arises because of host specificity, in which microorganisms or plants limit each other's occurrence. Using a reciprocal transplant experiment, we tested the hypothesis that host specificity between trees and ectomycorrhizal fungi determines patterns of tree and fungal soil specialisation. Seedlings of 13 dipterocarp species with contrasting soil specialisations were seeded into plots crossing soil type and canopy openness. Ectomycorrhizal colonists were identified by DNA sequencing. After 2.5 years, we found no evidence of host specificity. Rather, soil environment was the primary determinant of ectomycorrhizal diversity and composition on seedlings. Despite their close symbiosis, our results show that ectomycorrhizal fungi and tree communities in this Bornean rain forest assemble independently of host-specific interactions, raising questions about how mutualism shapes the realised niche.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Kabir G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Peay
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0118, USA.
authors.forename: Sabrina E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Barnard College of Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.|Department of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology, Columbia University, Washington, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Krista L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0118, USA.
authors.forename: Ju Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20013-7012, USA.
authors.forename: Sylvester
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20013-7012, USA.
authors.forename: Stuart J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D001893:Borneo; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D016014:Linear Models; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D065947:Rainforest; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012987:Soil; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013559:Symbiosis; D014197:Trees / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D012987:Soil
keywords: Borneo; Lambir Hills; mutualism; mycorrhiza; plant-soil feedback; tropical rainforest