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The genus Laccaria (Hydnangiaceae, Agaricales) plays an important role in forest ecosystems as an ectomycorrhizal fungus, contributing to nutrient cycles through symbiosis with many types of trees. Though understanding Laccaria diversity and distribution patterns, as well as its association with host plants, is fundamental to constructing a balanced plant diversity and conducting effective forest management, previous studies have not been effective in accurately investigating, as they relied heavily on specimen collection alone. To investigate the true diversity and distribution pattern of Laccaria species and determine their host types, we used four different approaches: specimen-based analysis, open database search (ODS), NGS analysis, and species-specific PCR (SSP). As a result, 14 Laccaria species have been confirmed in Korea. Results regarding the species distribution pattern were different between specimen-based analysis and SSP. However, when both were integrated, the exact distribution pattern of each Laccaria species was determined. In addition, the SSP revealed that many Laccaria species have a wide range of host types. This study shows that using these four different approaches is useful in determining the diversity, distribution, and host of ECM fungi. Furthermore, results obtained for Laccaria will serve as a baseline to help understand the role of ECM fungi in forest management in response to climate change.

This study aimed to investigate differences in ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities between disturbed sites and undisturbed old forest sites. ECM root tips of Pinus densiflora were collected from 4 sites disturbed by human activities and 3 undisturbed old forest sites adjacent to the disturbed sites. Results in this study showed that the number of ECM root tips, species diversity and number of species were significantly higher in the disturbed sites than in the undisturbed sites, suggesting that the ECM fungal community structure was affected by the degree of disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal endophytes are microfungi that live in plants without causing apparent symptoms of infection. This study was conducted to identify endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of coniferous trees in Bohyeon Mountain of Korea. We collected leaves of two species of coniferous trees, Pinus densiflora and Pinus koraiensis, from 11 sites in the study area. A total 58 isolates were obtained and identified using molecular and morphological characteristics. Four species of endophytic fungi were isolated from P dens~flora: Lophodermium conigenum, Leotiomycetes sp., Septoria pini-thunbergii, and Polyporales sp., while two fungal species were isolated from P koraiensis: Eurotiomycetes sp. and Rhytismataceae sp. The most frequently isolated species were L conigenum and S. pini-thunbergii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect of soil ameliorators on ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities in coal mine spoils was investigated. Organic fertilizers and slaked lime were applied as soil ameliorators in 3 abandoned coal mine spoils. One year after the initial treatment, roots of Pinus densiflora seedlings were collected and the number of ECM species, colonization rate, and species diversity were assessed. The results showed that the soil ameliorators significantly increased ECM colonization on the roots of P. densiflora. The results suggest that soil ameliorators can have a positive effect on ECM fungi in terms of growth of host plants and show the potential use of soil ameliorator treatment for revegetation with ECM-colonized pine seedlings in the coal mine spoils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Laccaria (Hydnangiaceae, Agaricales) plays an important role in forest ecosystems as an ectomycorrhizal fungus, contributing to nutrient cycles through symbiosis with many types of trees. Though understanding Laccaria diversity and distribution patterns, as well as its association with host plants, is fundamental to constructing a balanced plant diversity and conducting effective forest management, previous studies have not been effective in accurately investigating, as they relied heavily on specimen collection alone. To investigate the true diversity and distribution pattern of Laccaria species and determine their host types, we used four different approaches: specimen-based analysis, open database search (ODS), NGS analysis, and species-specific PCR (SSP). As a result, 14 Laccaria species have been confirmed in Korea. Results regarding the species distribution pattern were different between specimen-based analysis and SSP. However, when both were integrated, the exact distribution pattern of each Laccaria species was determined. In addition, the SSP revealed that many Laccaria species have a wide range of host types. This study shows that using these four different approaches is useful in determining the diversity, distribution, and host of ECM fungi. Furthermore, results obtained for Laccaria will serve as a baseline to help understand the role of ECM fungi in forest management in response to climate change., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Korean Society of Mycology.)

The spore of Tricholoma matsutake is considered to be the starting point of the mushroom growth cycle, but the mechanism of mycelial development from the spore stage is not yet clarified. In this study, we tried to measure how far the spores of T. matsutake disperse from a fruiting body located at a Pinus densiflora stand in Korea. We established 16 slide glasses coated with glycerin near a fruiting body in four directions separated by four different distance intervals within a mushroom productive stand after removing all other fruiting bodies from three plots. The number of dispersed spores increased with time from the first day (475 spores/cm2) to the fourth day (836 spores/cm2) after the pileus opened. The number of spores dispersed downward was about 1.5 times greater than that dispersed toward the ridge. The number of dispersed spores decreased exponentially as the distance from each fruiting body increased. More than 95% of the spores dropped within a meter from the fruiting body, with 75% dropping within 0.5 m. Even so, the number of spores dispersed over 5 m from the fruiting body was more than 50 million when considering the total number of spores produced by a fruiting body is about 5 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate differences in ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities between disturbed sites and undisturbed old forest sites. ECM root tips of Pinus densiflora were collected from 4 sites disturbed by human activities and 3 undisturbed old forest sites adjacent to the disturbed sites. Results in this study showed that the number of ECM root tips, species diversity, and number of species were significantly higher in the disturbed sites than in the undisturbed sites, suggesting that the ECM fungal community structure was affected by the degree of disturbance.

Fungal endophytes are microfungi that live in plants without causing apparent symptoms of infection. This study was conducted to identify endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of coniferous trees in Bohyeon Mountain of Korea. We collected leaves of two species of coniferous trees, Pinus densiflora and Pinus koraiensis, from 11 sites in the study area. A total 58 isolates were obtained and identified using molecular and morphological characteristics. Four species of endophytic fungi were isolated from P. densiflora: Lophodermium conigenum, Leotiomycetes sp., Septoria pini-thunbergii, and Polyporales sp., while two fungal species were isolated from P. koraiensis: Eurotiomycetes sp. and Rhytismataceae sp. The most frequently isolated species were L. conigenum and S. pini-thunbergii.

In this study, the effect of soil ameliorators on ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities in coal mine spoils was investigated. Organic fertilizers and slaked lime were applied as soil ameliorators in 3 abandoned coal mine spoils. One year after the initial treatment, roots of Pinus densiflora seedlings were collected and the number of ECM species, colonization rate, and species diversity were assessed. The results showed that the soil ameliorators significantly increased ECM colonization on the roots of P. densiflora. The results suggest that soil ameliorators can have a positive effect on ECM fungi in terms of growth of host plants and show the potential use of soil ameliorator treatment for revegetation with ECM-colonized pine seedlings in the coal mine spoils.

The spore of Tricholoma matsutake is considered to be the starting point of the mushroom growth cycle, but the mechanism of mycelial development from the spore stage is not yet clarified. In this study, we tried to measure how far the spores of T. matsutake disperse from a fruiting body located at a Pinus densiflora stand in Korea. We established 16 slide glasses coated with glycerin near a fruiting body in four directions separated by four different distance intervals within a mushroom productive stand after removing all other fruiting bodies from three plots. The number of dispersed spores increased with time from the first day (475 spores/cm(2)) to the fourth day (836 spores/cm(2)) after the pileus opened. The number of spores dispersed downward was about 1.5 times greater than that dispersed toward the ridge. The number of dispersed spores decreased exponentially as the distance from each fruiting body increased. More than 95% of the spores dropped within a meter from the fruiting body, with 75% dropping within 0.5 m. Even so, the number of spores dispersed over 5 m from the fruiting body was more than 50 million when considering the total number of spores produced by a fruiting body is about 5 billion.

This study was conducted to investigate the different effects of ectomycorrhizal fungal (ECMF) species on the growth of seedlings of Pinus densiflora, and the effects of ECMF diversity on plant productivity. A total of five species of ECMF were isolated from root tips of pine seedlings collected from Mt. Songni and used as inocula. Pots containing pine seedlings were inoculated with either a single ECMF species or a mixture of five ECMF species. All of the seedlings formed ECM on their roots except for the control plants. The pine seedlings' growth responses varied by the different ECMF species. Also, pine seedlings inoculated with a mixture of five ECMF species showed the highest growth response. The results of the study suggest that the colonization of diverse species of ECMF will increase plant productivity, and the selection of suitable ECMF species could be an important factor for plant growth.