Keizer's Fungus guide

[sloth]

A question also if I may? Are all ectomycorhizea microfungi, and all endomycorhizea macrofungi (or thee way round)? Or is that far too simplistic!? Thank you for indulging a fungi novice...

Edited September 3, 2011 by sloth

[Fungus]

Trying to get my head in order with the basic differences between ecto & arbuscular mycorrhizal (endo) fungi. Then I read that Ectos have the propensity to penetrate the cells of roots, which (I had thought I had this one ticked off) is endo territory

 

David,

Where and written by whom did you read that ?

[Fungus]

A question also if I may? Are all ectomycorhizea microfungi, and all endomycorhizea macrofungi (or thee way round)? Or is that far too simplistic!?

 

Sloth,

No, it's the other way around : all ectomycorrhizae are formed by the mycelia of macrofungi and all endomycorrhizae by the mycelia of microfungi.

And the difference between macro- and microfungi is, that macrofungi (basidiomycetes, ascomycetes) can and almost always will reproduce sexually in/on teleomorphs with basidia or asci, with the exception of some macrofungi also capable of fruiting with anamorphs, and microfungi only reproduce asexually by "splitting off" spores from the hyphae of their mycelia.

[sloth]

Thank you

[sloth]

So do trees only associate with either endo or ecto? And how can you check to see what microfungi are present in a particular tsse? Thanks again, sorry to ask, but it seems with fungi answers raise more questions!

[Fungus]

1. So do trees only associate with either endo or ecto?

2. And how can you check to see what microfungi are present in a particular tsse?

 

1. See the short list of with endo- and/or ectomycorrhizae associated tree species and endo- and ectomycorrhizae.

2. By microscopical identification of spores and characteristics of species specific (reproductive) tissues (hyphae), by genetical fingerprinting and by interspecies incompatibility experiments with interacting hyphae.

[sloth]

1. See the short list of with endo- and/or ectomycorrhizae associated tree species and endo- and ectomycorrhizae.

2. By microscopical identification of spores and characteristics of species specific (reproductive) tissues (hyphae), by genetical fingerprinting and by interspecies incompatibility experiments with interacting hyphae.

 

1. Thank you

2. Sounds complicated, and best left to pros!

[David Humphries]

David,

Where and written by whom did you read that ?

 

 

 

From a short review of................

 

 

Ectendomycorrhizal associations - characteristics and functions

Trevor E. Yu, Keith N. Egger and Larry R. Peterson

 

 

Which is from the journal 'Mycorrhiza'

Volume 11, Number 4,

 

 

.

[Fungus]

the basic differences between ecto & arbuscular mycorrhizal (endo) fungi. Ectos have the propensity to penetrate the cells of roots, which is endo territory

 

David,

You're referring to early research on the subject of ectendomycorrhizal associations of fungi with trees.

Thus far only a few macrofungi (ascomycetes), such as Wilcoxina mikolae, W. rehmii and Sphaerosporella brunnea, have been identified and documented to have this type of opportunistic "transitional" mycorrhizae.

All species found are pioneer symbionts associating with young (seedlings) and/or regenerating trees growing in nurseries and on - especially after forest fires - extremely disturbed soils, of which natural reforestation is following tree species specific successive cycles (see : macrofungi forest fire), with another ascomycete, Geopyxis carbonaria, as an ectomycorrhizal pioneer associating with seedlings of coniferous trees.

 

It has been speculated, that the ascomycete ectendomycorrhizal species of macrofungi are a remnant ("fossil") of the evolution of the ectomycorrhizal macrofungi from the endomycorrhizal microfungi, specializing in associating with young trees, which have to deal with extreme circumstances, just as Paxillus involutus, Scleroderma citrinum, Thelephora terrestris and some Tomentella species evolved from saprotrophic species to ectomycorrhizal symbionts without loosing their ability to temporarely live on/from dead wood.

 

Recently some other species of ascomycetes, such as Humaria (= Mycolachnea) haemisphaerica, Tricharina gilva and Cenococcum geophilum (Fungi Imperfecti), have been identified as ectomycorrhizal symbionts too.

[Fungus]

Another example of Fomitopsis pinicola on birch, I found today while monitoring a woodland on poor sandy soil with Betula, Quercus and Pinus as dominant tree species.

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