Abstract
BackgroundGastrodia elata is a widely distributed achlorophyllous orchid and is highly valued as both medicine and food. Gastrodia elata produces dust-like seeds and relies on mycorrhizal fungi for its germination and growth. In its life cycle, G. elata is considered to switch from a specific single-fungus relationship (Mycena) to another single-fungus relationship (Armillaria). However, no studies have investigated the changes in the plant-fungus relationship during the growth of G. elata in the wild. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to characterize the fungal community of tubers in different growth phases as well as the soils surrounding G. elata.ResultsThe predominant fungi were Basidiomycota (60.44%) and Ascomycota (26.40%), which exhibited changes in abundance and diversity with the growth phases of G. elata. Diverse basidiomycetes in protocorms (phase P) were Hyphodontia, Sistotrema, Tricholoma, Mingxiaea, Russula, and Mycena, but the community changed from a large proportion of Resinicium bicolor (40%) in rice-like tubers (phase M) to an unidentified Agaricales operational taxonomic unit 1(OTU1,98.45%) in propagation vegetation tubers (phase B). The soil fungi primarily included Simocybe, Psathyrella, Conocybe, and Subulicystidium. Three Mycena OTUs obtained in this study were differentially distributed among the growth phases of G. elata, accounting for less than 1.0% of the total reads, and were phylogenetically close to Mycena epipterygia and M. alexandri.ConclusionsOur data indicated that G. elata interacts with a broad range of fungi beyond the Mycena genus. These fungi changed with the growth phases of G. elata. In addition, these data suggested that the development of the fungal community during the growth of G. elata was more complex than previously assumed and that at least two different fungi could be involved in development before the arrival of Armillaria.
Highlights
Gastrodia elata is a widely distributed achlorophyllous orchid and is highly valued as both medicine and food
We aimed to understand (1) the dynamics of the fungal community associated with G. elata in different developmental phases, (2) whether the Mycena species comprise the majority of fungi associated with G. elata during early development phases, and (3) the overlap between the fungal communities associated with G. elata and those in the surrounding soils
A total of 402,117 high-quality reads were obtained from 12 samples, and 1000 Operational taxonomic units (OTU) were observed at a 97% similarity
Summary
Gastrodia elata is a widely distributed achlorophyllous orchid and is highly valued as both medicine and food. Gastrodia elata produces dust-like seeds and relies on mycorrhizal fungi for its germination and growth. No studies have investigated the changes in the plant-fungus relationship during the growth of G. elata in the wild. Orchidaceae has been considered to be the most diverse and widely distributed plant family on earth [1]. Dust-like seeds [2], which lack the necessary energy reserves, a variety of mycorrhizal fungi are required to stimulate their germination and seedling growth, a strategy termed mycoheterotrophy [3, 4]. The fully mycoheterotrophic orchid Corallorhiza maculata is colonized exclusively by the same highly specific ectomycorrhizal fungi throughout the
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