Mycorrhizal Cheaters in the Monotropoideae: Costs, Benefits, and Life History Traits of an Unholy Alliance.

DEB-0108424 BrunsEpiparasitic植物不进行光合作用，并且它们通过与两种植物相连的菌根真菌从绿色植物间接获得糖。 这种行为使它们成为陆地生态系统中最广泛的互惠关系之一的骗子。 我们的目标是了解的成本和效益的epiparasic植物，其直接的真菌和间接的植物宿主，并检查生活史性状相关的建立epiparasic幼苗。 我们解决这些目标，通过四个具体的假设有关的条件变化的共生连续体，对宿主真菌竞争相互作用的影响，和宿主特异性的生态机制。 这些假设进行了测试耦合共生发芽实验在现场与操纵生长室实验。 我们在这两种环境中对真菌和植物进行精确的分子鉴定。 结果将提供在植物寄生端的菌根共生的相互作用的性质的深入了解，将产生新的数据特异性，发芽和这些植物的发展，并将进一步开发一个独特的实验系统共生作弊。 这些信息将增加我们对菌根共生的了解，并将有助于我们管理一些珍稀濒危物种的种群。

DEB-0108424 BrunsEpiparasitic plants are not photosynthetic, and they indirectly obtain sugars from green plants through a mycorrhizal fungus that is connected to both plants. This behavior makes them cheaters of one of the most widespread mutualisms in terrestrial ecosystems. Our goals are to understand the costs and benefits of epiparasitic plants to their direct fungal and indirect plant hosts, and to examine life history traits related to the establishment of epiparasite seedlings. We address these goals through four specific hypotheses related to conditional changes in the symbiotic continuum, to effects on host-fungal competitive interactions, and to ecological mechanisms for host specificity. These hypotheses are tested by coupling symbiotic germination experiments in the field with manipulative growth chamber experiments. We use precise molecular identification of fungi and plants in both settings. Results will provide an in-depth understanding of the nature of the interactions at the plant-parasitic end the mycorrhizal symbiosis, will yield novel data on specificity, germination, and development of these plants, and will further develop a unique experimental system of symbiotic cheating. This information will increase of our knowledge of mycorrhizal symbiosis, and will help us to manage populations of some of the rare and endangered species in the Monotropoideae.