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Young Woon Lim
Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2864-3449
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Background Fungi are key components of belowground ecosystems with various ecological roles in forests. Although the changes in the richness and composition of belowground fungi across altitudinal gradients have been widely reported, only a few studies have focused on the microhabitat types along altitudinal gradients.
Results Here, we analyzed the effect of altitudinal gradients on the fungal communities of belowground microhabitats (roots and soil) and their different ecological roles. Root and nearby soil samples were collected from 80 Pinus densiflora trees in 16 localities at various altitudes across the country, and their community composition was analyzed using DNA metabarcoding of the ITS2 region on the Illumina MiSeq platform. We found that ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi were more abundant in the soil, whereas the relative abundance of endophytic and saprotrophic fungi was higher in the roots. Altitude negatively affected the species richness of root-inhabiting and ECM fungi but did not influence that of non-ECM fungi. However, the composition of ECM fungi was less influenced by altitude than that of non-ECM fungi.
Conclusion Our results demonstrate that microhabitat types and altitudinal gradients affect the diversity, composition, and function of fungal communities associated with a single plant host and contribute to a better understanding of plant-associated fungal communities.
Keywords
Fungal community, Pinus densiflora, microhabitat, root fungi, soil fungi, altitudinal gradients
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A new preprint design is coming!
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This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Research
Young Woon Lim
Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2864-3449
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 15 Mar, 2021
No community comments so far
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Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background Fungi are key components of belowground ecosystems with various ecological roles in forests. Although the changes in the richness and composition of belowground fungi across altitudinal gradients have been widely reported, only a few studies have focused on the microhabitat types along altitudinal gradients.
Results Here, we analyzed the effect of altitudinal gradients on the fungal communities of belowground microhabitats (roots and soil) and their different ecological roles. Root and nearby soil samples were collected from 80 Pinus densiflora trees in 16 localities at various altitudes across the country, and their community composition was analyzed using DNA metabarcoding of the ITS2 region on the Illumina MiSeq platform. We found that ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi were more abundant in the soil, whereas the relative abundance of endophytic and saprotrophic fungi was higher in the roots. Altitude negatively affected the species richness of root-inhabiting and ECM fungi but did not influence that of non-ECM fungi. However, the composition of ECM fungi was less influenced by altitude than that of non-ECM fungi.
Conclusion Our results demonstrate that microhabitat types and altitudinal gradients affect the diversity, composition, and function of fungal communities associated with a single plant host and contribute to a better understanding of plant-associated fungal communities.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
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