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The impact of host plant (Pinus thunbergii) on the mycelial features of the
ectomycorrhizal fungus Rhizopogon roseolus
Ivan Permana Putra
a,b
, Tadanori Aimi
c
, and Norihiro Shimomura
c
a
The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-cho Minami, Tottori 680-8553, Japan;
b
Department of
Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, IPB University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia;
c
Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, 4-101
Koyama-cho Minami, Tottori 680-8553, Japan
ABSTRACT
The impact of host plant on the mycelial features of mycorrhizal symbiont and its characteristics has
been poorly investigated. This study aimed to compare and quantify (statistically tested) some of
the mycelial features of an ectomycorrhiza (ECM)-forming fungus with and without the ECM host.
The ECM-forming fungus, Rhizopogon roseolus, inoculated with or without Pinus thunbergii on both
rich and poor nutrient media, was observed under laboratory conditions. On rich medium, fungi
with the host had the highest colony diameter and consistently produced the highest hyphal
length relative to fungi on other media. Thus, the host had a signicant impact on the mycelium
production of R. roseolus in both rich and poor media. Further, fungi without the host had a higher
number of hyphal anastomoses per hyphal length on both poor and rich media than fungi with the
host in the same medium. Anastomosis, which refers to the fusion of two parallel hyphae, was
evident in all experiments. However, there was no signicant impact of the host on the number of
hyphal anastomoses. In addition, fungi without the host had more frequent hyphal branching on
both rich and poor media than fungi with the host. The occurrence of a host only had a signicant
impact on the formation of the hyphal branch on poor medium. Further, a chlamydospore-like
structure was identied, which had a higher diameter when formed with the host on both rich and
poor media. The present data provide new insights into the host plant’s impact on the mycelial
features of ECM-forming fungi.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 10 November 2021
Accepted 25 April 2022
KEYWORDS
Ectomycorrhiza; host effect;
mycelial characters;
Rhizopogon roseolus
INTRODUCTION
Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbiosis has long been known
to provide various benefits for plants and their fungal
partners (Smith and Read 2008). The ECM fungi play an
essential role in the search for water and nutrients,
thereby supporting the growth and development of
their host plants (Smith and Read 2008; Tibbett and
Sanders 2002). Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis affects the
characters of host plant organs, such as changes in the
morphology and physiology of plant roots (Martin and
Hilbert 1991; Smith and Read 2008). Conversely, the
impact of host plants on the morphological character-
istics of the mycelia of ECM fungi has rarely been
reported. In addition, most prior studies sought to quan-
tify and characterize mycorrhizal fungi primarily from
arbuscular mycorrhizae (Declerck et al. 2004; De La
Providencia et al. 2005; Giovannetti et al. 2004).
Morphological characterization and quantification of
mycelia are essential to obtain a better biological under-
standing of mycelial response to ectomycorrhizal sym-
biosis and its cultivation aspects (Shimomura et al.
2012a). The morphological parameters that are com-
monly considered in assessment of mycorrhiza-
forming fungi include hyphal growth, hyphal length,
hyphal anastomosis, and the number of branches near
the hyphal tips (Declerck et al. 2004; De La Providencia
et al. 2005; De Novais et al. 2013; Giovannetti et al. 2004;
Sbrana et al. 2007, 2020). However, prior reports on
those aspects of ECM fungi are scarce both in situ and
in vitro. In addition, the effect of the host on mycor-
rhizal fungi has only been reported at a higher biological
level, where alterations occurred in the scope of the
community trophic structure in arbuscular mycorrhizae
(Eom et al. 2000) and ectomycorrhizae (Hoeksema et al.
2018). The impact of host plants on mycelial features of
ECM fungi has never been reported and thus warrants
the assessment.
The hyphae of ECM fungi are the most poorly under-
stood component of a symbiosis (Anderson and Cairney
2007; Cairney 2005; Staddon 2003). Chen et al. (2013)
revealed that an assessment of hypha production is
impractical to execute in the field. Hence, to understand
the mycelial response to host occurrence or absence, an
CONTACT Norihiro Shimomura nshimo@tottori-u.ac.jp
MYCOLOGIA
2022, VOL. 114, NO. 4, 670–681
https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2022.2071119
© 2022 The Mycological Society of America
Published online 09 Jun 2022