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Offlineraceme
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A few questions about mycorrhizal species
    #18853082 - 09/17/13 10:42 AM (10 years, 5 months ago)

I was thinking the other day, and realized that there are a few gaps in my (limited) knowledge of mycorrhizae and mycorrhizal species, so I was hoping that someone could shed some light on a few things for me.

1. Do mycorrhizal species decay plant matter as well as receiving nutrients from their partners?  Does it depend on the species?

2. Do they form mycelial mats that extend beyond the rhizosphere of their partner.  If so, why do they do this?  Seeking another partner, looking for nutrients, covering ground for fruiting…?

3. When the spores of a mycorrhizal species germinate, do they simply grow outwards until they find a suitable partner, or do they need to be in very close proximity to a partner to have a chance at survival?  If this is the case, how close is close?

Thanks in advance!
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Offlineleschampignons
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Re: A few questions about mycorrhizal species [Re: raceme]
    #18854539 - 09/17/13 05:25 PM (10 years, 5 months ago)

These are very good questions that I would also like to know the answers to. I can provide a partial answer for the first question though...

From what I've read yes they decay plant matter a little bit as well as receiving nutes from their partners. If you think about it, they have to be doing some kind of growth/mineral assimilation/digestion at the very least in order to trade minerals with the host in exchange for the sugars they recieve. Otherwise it would only be a parasitism (taking a plant's sugars), which we know is not the case.

The thing is, many mycorrhizal species (I know the amanita genus, for example) have lost their ability to break down cellulose. What this basically means is that they can only do this digesting to a very limited degree. Enough to break down some plant sugars and dead microbes present in the soil and extend hyphae through it, but not enough to decompose anything which is at all woody. This is simply not where they get there energy from. They are dependant on the host in order to really thrive and fruit.

But as I said above, this doesn't mean they are completely devoid of the ability to digest things, they can still digest simpler sugars/shorter chain carbohydrates. This is why a mycorrhizal species can be plated on agar, and many will grow to differing degrees on grain. (some will even fruit on enough grain in the absence of a mycorrhizal realtionship)

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can chime in here and answer the other questions and/or let me know if this^^ is accurate, which I believe it is.


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Invisiblelaughingsol
Dirt Farmer


Registered: 01/01/12
Posts: 389
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Re: A few questions about mycorrhizal species [Re: raceme] * 1
    #18854578 - 09/17/13 05:33 PM (10 years, 5 months ago)

1. It would be more appropriate to say that the type, rather than species, of mycorrhizal fungus has great influence over whether or not they can decay organic matter.  For example, most ectomycorrhizal fungi have at least some saprophytic ability.  Ectomycorrhizae include most of the fungi that produce large fruiting bodies, i.e. morels, boletes, matsutake.  Conversely, the soil dwelling species of arbuscular mycorrhizae (Glomus spp. for example) lack the ability to decay organic matter and get their carbon from the partnership with their host plant.

2. It would be better to say that they extend the rhizosphere of their partner since nutrients taken up by the mycelial network can be transfered to the plant.  As far as why, well, the fungi may have brought the plants to land, and the plants are probably grateful for the increased water uptake and mineral nutrition... its really not that bad of a tradeoff for the plants sending a good part of the photosynthetic energy they produce to another organism.  This of course is much less than a small portion of the story.  The reasons for this interaction are not wholly understood by even the best minds who have dedicated their lives to this study.  The mycelial network does create and drop spores asexually in most cases, so there is the reproductive factor as well.

3. Again, it depends on the type of mycorrhizal fungus.  The arbuscular mycorrhizae spores can be induced to germinate in the absence of a suitable host, but they cannot grow beyond a few cell divisions without finding a suitable partner.  On the other hand, ectomycorrhizae have limited saprophytic ability and will germinate spores and grow in the absence of a plant partner. 

There is much more to this story and there are more types of mycorrizae than I have mentioned. I realize you may have more questions now than you did before you posted your question, but... well, I hope I've helped some.


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