Stable isotope evidence for the saprotropic status of the truffleSchenella pityophilus

[摘要] This research attempts to resolve the mode of nutrition, i.e., saptrtrophic or ectomycorrhizal, forSchenella pityophilus,a sequestrate hypogeous fungus. While a majority of truffles in both the Ascomycota and the Basidiomycota are ectomycorrhizal,S. pityophilusis in the Geastrales in which species are saprotrophic. Stable isotope ratios of C and N have been used to elucidate fungal trophic modes. Stable isotopic ratios of N and C from fruiting bodies ofS. pityophiluswere compared to those ofRhizopogonspecies collected from the same sites and known to be ectomycorrhizal. Fruiting bodies ofS. pityophiluswere depleted in δ 15 N and enriched in δ 13 C relative toRhizopogonspecies. Stable isotope data support the conclusion thatS. pityophilusis saprotrophic rather than mycorrhizal.

[学科分类] 植物学

[关键词] ectomycorrhizal fungi;Geastrales;saprotrophic fungi;Schenella pityophilus;stable isotopes;trophic strategies