Cool plants and their fungal friends - Coast Botanical Gardencoastbotanicalgarden.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sunshine-coast... · extracellularly as in ectomycorrhizal fungi.

Cool plants and their fungal friends

Andy MacKinnonMetchosin

What is myco-heterotrophy?

What plants are mycoheterotrophic?

What fungi are involved?

What is the nature of the relationship?

What is ‘mixotrophy’?

Some local examples.

Lessons from myco-heterotrophy.


What are plants?

What are fungi?

Cool plants and their fungal friends• lichens• mycorrhizae• mycoheterotrophs and mixotrophs









What are plants?

What are fungi?










What are plants?

What are fungi?










What are plants?

What are fungi?



lichens

mycorrhizae

mycoheterotrophs and mixotrophs


lichens

mycorrhizae


Viktoria Wagner and Toby Spribille

Edible Horsehair Lichen (Bryoria fremontii)

Inedible Horsehair Lichen (Bryoria tortuosa)

A fluorescent microscope image shows the location of different cell types in a bryoria lichen, cut at the ends and lengthwise through the middle. Green are the yeasts, blue are the fungi, red are the algae. (Toby Spribille)


lichens

mycorrhizae


Mycorrhiza

Greek μύκης mykēs, “fungus”

Greek ρίζα, riza, "root"

A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association composed of a fungus and roots of a vascular plant. In a mycorrhizal association, the fungus colonizes the host plant's roots, either intracellularly as in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF or AM), or extracellularly as in ectomycorrhizal fungi. The association is generally mutualistic.

ectomycorrhizae VA (endo-) mycorrhizae

ericoid mycorrhizae salal


lichens

mycorrhizae









• What is myco-heterotrophy?

• What plants are myco-heterotrophic?• What fungi are involved?• Some local examples.• Lessons from myco-heterotrophy.

Mycoheterotrophy

Greek μύκης mykēs, “fungus”

Greek ἕτερος heteros, “another”, “different”

Greek τροφή trophe = "nutrition", "growth”

Myco-heterotrophy is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon fungi rather than from photosynthesis. A myco-heterotroph is the parasitic plant partner in this relationship.

Movement of carbon (black arrows) and nutrients (white arrows) in myco-heterotrophy. (from Leake and Cameron 2010)

Mycoheterotrophic plants generally …

Lack chlorophyll

Have small ‘dust’ seeds with undifferentiated embryos

Have leaves that are scale-like or absent

Have reduced vascularization of the stem

Lack stomata

Have reduced roots that lack root hairs

Have elevated δ13C and δ15N values (compared to green

plants)

Mixotrophic plants generally …

Are green

have δ13C and δ15N values between those of mycoheterotrophs and full autotrophs (regular green plants), indicating that they get some of their C and N from other plants through their fungal partner

Are related to mycoheterotrophs










Plant families that have evolved myco-heterotrophy. (from Merckx and Freudenstein 2010)

Plant families that have evolved myco-heterotrophy.



5 species of Epirixanthes

25 species of Voyria, Voyriella,

Cotylanthera and Sebaea

Epirixanthes verticillata

Voyria parasitica


Burmannia bicolor

Geosiris aphylla


Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata)


Indian-pipe (Monotropa uniflora)










Main fungal groups that host myco-heterotrophic plants (after Hynson and Bruns 2010).


Generally, myco-heterotrophic Aneuraceae

(liverworts), Orchidaceae and Ericaceae exploit

ectomycorrhizal networks while myco-

heterotrophic Burmanniaceae, Corsiaceae,

Gentianaceae, Thismiaceae and Triuridaceae

exploit arbuscular mycorrhizal networks

some myco-heterotrophic orchids are specialized on

litter- and wood-decay fungi










Probably most clubmosses and some ferns

•Gametophytes of most species of clubmosses and some ferns are non-photosynthetic, mycorrhizal and likely myco-heterotrophic

Running clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum)

Orchids in general•Most (perhaps all) of the 30,000 species of orchids require some sort of myco-heterotrophic arrangement with saprophytic or parasitic species of “Rhizoctonia” (Basidiomycetes) for germination of their ‘dust’ seeds

•>100 fully myco-heterotrophic species; perhaps some mixotrophs also?

Fairyslipper (Calypso bulbosa)

• Goodyera repens

has been shown to transfer significant amounts of carbon back to its mycorrhizal fungus

Coralroots (Corallorhiza species)

•Four species in southwestern BC: spotted coralroot (C. maculata), western coralroot (C. mertensiana), striped coralroot (C. striata), yellow coralroot (C. trifida), all in our area (but yellow coralroot more of an interior BC species)

•All myco-heterotrophic

•Fungal associates: –spotted coralroot, 20 species in Russulaceae –western coralroot, 3 closely related Russula species –striped coralroot, Thelephora-Tomentella species

Spotted Coralroot (C. maculata)

Phantom Orchid (Cephalanthera austiniae)

•Fully mycoheterotrophic

•Fungal associates: 14 species in Thelephora-Tomentella

Thelephora terrestris

Prince’s-Pines (Chimaphila species)

•Menzies’ pipsissewa (C. menziesii) and Prince’s Pine (C. umbellata) both in our area

•Prince’s Pine is mixotrophic

•Fungal associates: a variety of ectomycorrhizal species, including several Tricholomas

Prince’s Pine (C. umbellata)

Wintergreens (Pyrola, Moneses and Orthilia species)

•Six species of Pyrola potentially in our area

•One-sided wintergreen (Orthilia secunda)

•Single delight (Moneses uniflora)

•White-veined wintergreen (Pyrola picta), green wintergreen (Pyrola chlorantha) and one-sided wintergreen (Orthilia secunda) are demonstrated mixotrophs

•Fungal associates: a variety of ectomycorrhizal species, including several TricholomasWhite-veined wintergreen

(Pyrola picta)

Candystick (Allotropa virgata)

•Mycoheterotrophic

•Fungal associate: pine mushroom (Tricholoma magnivelare)

Gnome Plant (Hemitomes congestum)


•Fungal associate: Hydnellum peckii andH. aurantiacum

Strawberries and cream (Hydnellum peckii)

Indian-pipe (Monotropa uniflora)


•Fungal associate: Russulaceae, often short-stemmed Russula (Russula brevipes)

broad-leaved helleborine (Epipactis helleborine)

•Usually mixotrophic, but …

•Fungal associates: Pyronemataceae, Sebacina, Tomentella, Tuber

Tuber oregonense

Pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys)

•AKA Hypopitys monotropa


•Fungal associates: Tricholoma species (including T. sejunctum andT. flavovirens); European pinesap associated with European Tricholomas

Man-on-horseback (Tricholoma flavovirens)

Pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea)


•Fungal associate: Rhizopogon salebrosus, R. arctostaphyli

Rhizopogon salebrosusDaniel Mosquin photo










Lessons from myco-heterotrophy

These pink and white plants are not “saprophytes”

It’s much too simplified to refer to some plants and fungi as having only one feeding preference

The world is much more complex (and interesting) than most texts would have you believe

The world is also much more complex than I’ve described tonight

Rhizopogon vinicolor

KJ Beiler, K.J., D.M. Durall, S.W. Simard, S.A. Maxwell and A.M. Kretzer. 2010. New Architecture of the Wood-Wide Web: Rhizopogon spp. Genets Link Multiple Douglas-Fir Cohorts. The New Phytologist 185(2): 543-553.

Thank You!

Cool plants and their fungal friends - Coast Botanical Gardencoastbotanicalgarden.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/sunshine-coast... · extracellularly as in ectomycorrhizal fungi.

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