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Limited carbon and mineral nutrient gain from mycorrhizal fungi by adult Australian orchids

Title data

Sommer, Janine ; Pausch, Johanna ; Brundrett, Mark C. ; Dixon, Kingsley W. ; Bidartondo, Martin I. ; Gebauer, Gerhard:
Limited carbon and mineral nutrient gain from mycorrhizal fungi by adult Australian orchids.
In: American Journal of Botany. Vol. 99 (2012) Issue 7 . - pp. 1133-1145.
ISSN 1537-2197
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1100575

Abstract in another language

Premise of the study: In addition to autotrophic and fully mycoheterotrophic representatives, the orchid family comprises species that at maturity obtain C and N partially from fungal sources. These partial mycoheterotrophs are often associated with fungi that simultaneously form ectomycorrhizas with trees. This study investigates mycorrhizal nutrition for orchids from the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot.
Methods: The mycorrhizal fungi of 35 green and one achlorophyllous orchid species were analysed using molecular methods. Nutritional mode was identified for 27 species by C and N isotope abundance analysis in comparison to non-orchids from the same habitat. As a complementary approach, 13CO2 pulse labelling was applied to a subset of six orchid species to measure photosynthetic capacity.
Key results: Almost all orchids associate with rhizoctonia-forming fungi. Due to much higher than expected variation within the co-occurring non-orchid reference plants, the stable isotope approach proved challenging for assigning most orchids to a specialised nutritional mode and therefore these orchids were classified as autotrophic at maturity. The 13CO2 pulse labelling confirmed full autotrophy for six selected species. Nonetheless, at least three orchid species (Gastrodia lacista, Prasophyllum elatum, Corybas recurvus) were identified as nutritionally distinctive from autotrophic orchids and reference plants.
Conclusions: Despite an orchid-rich flora, among southwest Australian orchids partial mycoheterotrophy is less common than in other parts of the world, most likely because most associate with saprotrophic fungi rather than ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Further data

Item Type: Article in a journal
Refereed: Yes
Additional notes: BAYCEER107882
Institutions of the University: Faculties
Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences
Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences > Junior Professor Agroecology
Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences > Junior Professor Agroecology > Junior Professor Agroecology - Juniorprof. Dr. Johanna Pausch
Research Institutions
Research Institutions > Research Centres
Research Institutions > Research Centres > Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research- BayCEER
Result of work at the UBT: Yes
DDC Subjects: 500 Science
Date Deposited: 14 Jul 2015 06:21
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2018 13:41
URI: https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/16262