REU: Ecological Studies of Ectomycorrhizal Host-Symbiont Interactions: A Molecular Approach

本研究将拓展和完善外生菌根真菌的分子鉴定方法。该方法是基于聚合酶链式反应的DNA扩增和产物的寡核苷酸杂交分析。该方法的敏感性使得可以从不同的分类水平(例如菌种的顺序)识别来自单个菌根的真菌共生体，并且可以同时识别树的宿主。这一方法将被用来研究几个具有生态意义的寄主-共生体相互作用：菌根寄生、真菌共生体共享以及选定物种之间的寄主专一性和竞争性相互作用。这些研究将为以后测试真菌演替和菌根群落结构的理论提供必要的基础，这些现象在几乎所有陆地生境中都非常重要。

This study will expand and refine a molecular method for identification of ectomycorrhizal fungi. The method is based on amplification of DNA with the polymerase chain reaction coupled with oligonucleotide hybridization assays of the resulting productd. The sensitivity of the method enables fungal symbionts from individual mycorrhizal rootlets to be identified to a variety of taxonomic levels (e.g., order to strain) and tree hosts to be identified simultaneously. This method will be used to examine several ecologically significant host-symbiont interactions; mycorrhizal parasitism, fungal symbiont sharing and host specificity and competitive interactions among selected species. These studies will provide the necessary foundation for later testing of theories of fungal succession and mycorrhizal community structure, phenomena that are highly significant in virtually all terrestrial habitats.