Collaborative Research: Diversity and Evolution of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi of the Guineo-Congolian Rainforest

有些真菌与植物密切共生。这些外生菌根真菌为植物宿主提供资源，作为回报，植物为真菌提供营养。真菌和宿主的相互作用提供了重要的生态系统功能，包括养分的循环。虽然真菌在环境中发挥的关键作用已经得到了很好的确立，但它们在热带系统中的重要性还没有得到很好的理解，对热带非洲来说尤其如此。在几内亚-刚果雨林开展的这个项目将首次使用现代方法全面记录这些真菌和热带非洲植物之间的关系。覆盖刚果河流域的巨大森林是世界上最后的热带雨林之一。该地区目前面临的威胁包括伐木、采矿和气候变化。该项目将通过在喀麦隆未受干扰的热带雨林进行远征实地考察，填补我们对这一生态系统中重要共生真菌知识的重大空白。该项目具有潜在的变革性，因为如果与非洲和南美洲密切相关的寄主植物相关的真菌被证明具有共同的古代起源，这些结果将从根本上影响对进化，全球生物地理学和外生菌根共生的局部适应性的理解。此外，新的DNA测序方法的应用将开发出全新的系统发育信息数据，这将改变该领域。据估计，100多种真菌将被发现是科学上的新发现。对这些物种的认识将极大地影响更广泛的研究领域。该项目的主要特点包括学生培训、基于互联网的信息共享和公众宣传。通过将传统的标本取样与高通量DNA测序相结合，本项目将提供迄今为止非洲热带森林外生菌根真菌最完整的多样性数据。此外，还可以比较相应生态系统中洲际热带外生菌根真菌群落。该研究将有助于加深对冈瓦纳非洲热带和新热带圭亚那地盾地区真菌生物地理学的认识。将在喀麦隆的Dja生物圈保护区和Korup国家公园建立与南美洲圭亚那地盾调查相同的调查地块，并将在多年内使用形态学和分子方法对外生菌根真菌进行取样。样本设计的复制允许在非洲和南美洲之间进行直接比较，从而允许进行强大的生物地理分析，以确定全球背景下外生菌根分类群的进化史。

Some fungi live in close symbiotic association with plants. These ectomycorrhizal fungi provide resources to the plant host, and in return, the plant provides nutrition to the fungi. The interactions of fungi and their hosts provide crucial ecosystem functions including the recycling of nutrients. While the critical roles that fungi play in the environment are well established, their importance in tropical systems is not well understood, and this is especially true for tropical Africa. This project in the Guineo-Congolian rainforest will provide the first thorough documentation of these fungi and plant relationships of tropical Africa using modern methods. The huge forest covering the Congo River basin is one of the last great tropical rainforests of the world. Current threats to the region include logging, mining, and climate change. This project will fill a major gap in our knowledge of the important symbiotic fungi of this ecosystem through expeditionary fieldwork in the undisturbed rainforests of Cameroon. This project is potentially transformative in that if the fungi associated with closely related host plants of Africa and South America are shown to have a common ancient origin, such results would fundamentally impact understanding of the evolution, global biogeography, and local adaptation of ectomycorrhizal symbioses. Additionally, application of new DNA sequencing methods will develop entirely new, phylogenetically informative data that will transform the field. It is estimated that over 100 fungi will be discovered that are new to science. Recognition of these species will greatly inform broader research areas. Key features of the project include student training, internet-based information sharing, and public outreach. By combining traditional specimen-based sampling with high throughput DNA sequencing, this project will provide the most complete diversity data to date on ectomycorrhizal fungi of Afrotropical forests. Additionally, it will enable comparison of intercontinental tropical ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in corresponding ecosystems. The research will enhance understanding of fungal biogeography in the Gondwana-derived Afrotropical and Neotropical Guiana Shield regions. Survey plots identical to those used for surveys in the Guiana Shield of South America will be established in the Dja Biosphere Reserve and Korup National Park Cameroon and ectomycorrhizal fungi will be sampled using morphological and molecular methods over multiple years. Replication of sample design allows for direct comparisons between Africa and South America, allowing for robust biogeographic analyses to determine the evolutionary histories of ectomycorrhizal taxa in a global context.