Tree genotype influences ectomycorrhizal fungal community structure: ecological and evolutionary implications.

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<p><span>Although the eco-evolutionary dynamics of multicellular organisms are intertwined with the <a title="Learn more about Microorganisms" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science... that colonize them, there is only a rudimentary understanding of how a host's <a title="Learn more about Genotype" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science... influences its </span><a title="Learn more about Microbiome" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science.... We utilize </span></span><span><em><a title="Learn more about Populus" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular... angustifolia</span><span><span><span><span> to test whether communities of essential <a title="Learn more about Symbionts" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science..., <a title="Learn more about Ectomycorrhiza" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular... fungi</a><span> (EMF), vary among host genotypes. Further, we test whether EMF communities covary among tree genotypes with the chemistry of senescent leaves and aboveground <a title="Learn more about Biomass" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular..., traits important to tree fitness, and carbon and <a title="Learn more about Nutrient Cycling" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular... cycling</a>. We found: 1) EMF composition, colonization and the </span></span></span></span><a title="Learn more about Basidiomycota" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science... to </span><a title="Learn more about Ascomycota" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science... ratio varied among tree genotypes (broad-sense </span><a title="Learn more about Heritability" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-science...–0.25). 2) EMF composition did not covary among genotypes with aboveground biomass but it did covary with senescent leaf chemistry (</span><em>rho</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;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.</p>