Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses?
Two common ecological assumptions are that host generalist and rare species are poorer competitors relative to host specialist and more abundant counterparts. While these assumptions have received considerable study in both plant and animals, how they apply to ectomycorrhizal fungi remains largely u...
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doaj-b86202a3bff0440ea32249f79f750d5c2021-03-03T21:58:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01158e023409910.1371/journal.pone.0234099Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses?Peter G KennedyJoe GagneEduardo Perez-PazosLotus A LofgrenNhu H NguyenTwo common ecological assumptions are that host generalist and rare species are poorer competitors relative to host specialist and more abundant counterparts. While these assumptions have received considerable study in both plant and animals, how they apply to ectomycorrhizal fungi remains largely unknown. To investigate how interspecific competition may influence the anomalous host associations of the rare ectomycorrhizal generalist fungus, Suillus subaureus, we conducted a seedling bioassay. Pinus strobus seedlings were inoculated in single- or two-species treatments of three Suillus species: S. subaureus, S. americanus, and S. spraguei. After 4 and 8 months of growth, seedlings were harvested and scored for mycorrhizal colonization as well as dry biomass. At both time points, we found a clear competitive hierarchy among the three ectomycorrhizal fungal species: S. americanus > S. subaureus > S. spraguei, with the competitive inferior, S. spraguei, having significantly delayed colonization relative to S. americanus and S. subaureus. In the single-species treatments, we found no significant differences in the dry biomasses of P. strobus seedlings colonized by each Suillus species, suggesting none was a more effective plant symbiont. Taken together, these results indicate that the rarity and anomalous host associations exhibited by S. subaureus in natural settings are not driven by inherently poor competitive ability or host growth promotion, but that the timing of colonization is a key factor determining the outcome of ectomycorrhizal fungal competitive interactions.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234099 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Peter G Kennedy Joe Gagne Eduardo Perez-Pazos Lotus A Lofgren Nhu H Nguyen |
spellingShingle |
Peter G Kennedy Joe Gagne Eduardo Perez-Pazos Lotus A Lofgren Nhu H Nguyen Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Peter G Kennedy Joe Gagne Eduardo Perez-Pazos Lotus A Lofgren Nhu H Nguyen |
author_sort |
Peter G Kennedy |
title |
Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? |
title_short |
Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? |
title_full |
Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? |
title_fullStr |
Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? |
title_sort |
does fungal competitive ability explain host specificity or rarity in ectomycorrhizal symbioses? |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2020-01-01 |
description |
Two common ecological assumptions are that host generalist and rare species are poorer competitors relative to host specialist and more abundant counterparts. While these assumptions have received considerable study in both plant and animals, how they apply to ectomycorrhizal fungi remains largely unknown. To investigate how interspecific competition may influence the anomalous host associations of the rare ectomycorrhizal generalist fungus, Suillus subaureus, we conducted a seedling bioassay. Pinus strobus seedlings were inoculated in single- or two-species treatments of three Suillus species: S. subaureus, S. americanus, and S. spraguei. After 4 and 8 months of growth, seedlings were harvested and scored for mycorrhizal colonization as well as dry biomass. At both time points, we found a clear competitive hierarchy among the three ectomycorrhizal fungal species: S. americanus > S. subaureus > S. spraguei, with the competitive inferior, S. spraguei, having significantly delayed colonization relative to S. americanus and S. subaureus. In the single-species treatments, we found no significant differences in the dry biomasses of P. strobus seedlings colonized by each Suillus species, suggesting none was a more effective plant symbiont. Taken together, these results indicate that the rarity and anomalous host associations exhibited by S. subaureus in natural settings are not driven by inherently poor competitive ability or host growth promotion, but that the timing of colonization is a key factor determining the outcome of ectomycorrhizal fungal competitive interactions. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234099 |
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