TY - JOUR T1 - Tree genetics defines fungal partner communities that may confer drought tolerance. JF - PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Y1 - 2017 A1 - Gehring, C.A. A1 - Sthultz, C.M. A1 - Flores-Rentería, L. A1 - A.V. Whipple A1 - T.G. Whitham AB -

Plant genetic variation and soil microorganisms are individually known to influence plant responses to climate change, but the interactive effects of these two factors are largely unknown. Using long-term observational studies in the field and common garden and greenhouse experiments of a foundation tree species (Pinus edulis) and its mutualistic ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) associates, we show that EMF community composition is under strong plant genetic control. Seedlings acquire the EMF community of their seed source trees (drought tolerant vs. drought intolerant), even when exposed to inoculum from the alternate tree type. Drought-tolerant trees had 25% higher growth and a third the mortality of drought-intolerant trees over the course of 10 y of drought in the wild, traits that were also observed in their seedlings in a common garden. Inoculation experiments show that EMF communities are critical to drought tolerance. Drought-tolerant and drought-intolerant seedlings grew similarly when provided sterile EMF inoculum, but drought-tolerant seedlings grew 25% larger than drought-intolerant seedlings under dry conditions when each seedling type developed its distinct EMF community. This demonstration that particular combinations of plant genotype and mutualistic EMF communities improve the survival and growth of trees with drought is especially important, given the vulnerability of forests around the world to the warming and drying conditions predicted for the future.

VL - 114 UR - https://www.pnas.org/content/114/42/11169 IS - 42 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Tree genotype influences ectomycorrhizal fungal community structure: Ecological and evolutionary implications JF - FUNGAL ECOLOGY Y1 - 2016 A1 - Lamit,LJ A1 - LM Holeski A1 - L Flores-Renteria A1 - TG Whitham A1 - CA Gehring AB - Although the eco-evolutionary dynamics of multicellular organisms are intertwined with the microorganisms that colonize them, there is only a rudimentary understanding of how a host's genotype influences its microbiome. We utilize Populus angustifolia to test whether communities of essential symbionts, ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), vary among host genotypes. Further, we test whether EMF communities covary among tree genotypes with the chemistry of senescent leaves and aboveground biomass, traits important to tree fitness, and carbon and nutrient cycling. We found: 1) EMF composition, colonization and the Basidiomycota to Ascomycota ratio varied among tree genotypes (broad-sense heritability=0.10鈥0.25). 2) EMF composition did not covary among genotypes with aboveground biomass but it did covary with senescent leaf chemistry ( rho =0.29), primarily due to a single genotype. These findings demonstrate a link between tree genotype and EMF communities, which has implications for fungal diversity, host-symbiont interactions and aboveground-belowground linkages in ecological and evolutionary contexts. VL - 24 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1754504816300563 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Tree genotype influences ectomycorrhizal fungal community structure: ecological and evolutionary implications. JF - Fungal Ecology Y1 - 2016 A1 - L.J. Lamit A1 - L. M. Holeski A1 - L. Flores-Rentería A1 - T. G. Whitham A1 - C. A. Gehring KW - Ectomycorrhizal fungi KW - Genotype Heritability KW - Populus KW - Senescent leaf chemistry AB -

Although the eco-evolutionary dynamics of multicellular organisms are intertwined with the microorganisms that colonize them, there is only a rudimentary understanding of how a host's genotype influences its microbiome. We utilize Populus angustifolia to test whether communities of essential symbionts, ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF), vary among host genotypes. Further, we test whether EMF communities covary among tree genotypes with the chemistry of senescent leaves and aboveground biomass, traits important to tree fitness, and carbon and nutrient cycling. We found: 1) EMF composition, colonization and the Basidiomycota to Ascomycota ratio varied among tree genotypes (broad-sense heritability = 0.10–0.25). 2) EMF composition did not covary among genotypes with aboveground biomass but it did covary with senescent leaf chemistry (rho = 0.29), primarily due to a single genotype. These findings demonstrate a link between tree genotype and EMF communities, which has implications for fungal diversity, host-symbiont interactions and aboveground-belowground linkages in ecological and evolutionary contexts.

VL - 24 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1754504816300563 IS - Part B ER -