Abstract Detail

Poster Session

Nelsen, Donald J. [1], Stephenson, Steven L.  [1].

Comparative analyses of ectomycorrhizal communities associated with Quercus and Carya in the Ozarks and Central Appalachian Mountains.

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) are symbiotic organisms that essentially trade nutrients for photosynthates at the surface of plant roots. The ECM fungi are dominated by members of the Basidiomycota and can vary in specificity to their plant hosts. Studies of ECM fungal ecology and evolution on particular host species are important both for increasing the understanding of community structure and fungal biodiversity associated with specific hosts and also to examining the potential for evolutionary diversification on conspecific hosts in disparate geographical regions. This project is examining the ECM communities associated with dominant Quercus and Carya tree species in North American montane forests at similar latitudes but separated geographically by the Mississippi River Valley. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is being employed to identify members of the ECM community occurring on the roots of sampled trees. NGS technology allows for the rapid identification of the multiple fungi that occur in the rhizosphere that cannot be isolated by traditional culturing or PCR and Sanger sequencing methods. Once the ECM community have been characterized, it will be possible to compare communities within and between host species, within and between sites in the same region, and between the two regions.

1 - University of Arkansas, Biological Sciences, Science and Engineering Bldg. Rm. 601, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

Keywords:
biogeography
biodiversity
symbiosis
evolution
ecology.

Presentation Type: Offered Paper - Poster
Session: P7
Location: Lincoln Room/Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
Date: Monday, June 9th, 2014
Time: 8:00 PM
Number: P7011
Abstract ID:22
Candidate for Awards:None