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Co-invasive ectomycorrhizal fungi alter native soil fungal communities

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Abstract

Purpose

Pinaceae (pine family) trees are native to the Northern Hemisphere and their invasion into the Southern Hemisphere is a growing problem threatening biological diversity. Pinaceae are ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and their invasions are facilitated by non-native and co-invasive ECM fungi. Nothofagaceae species (southern beeches) are dominant overstory trees across large swaths of the Southern Hemisphere and are the only widespread ECM trees native to southern South America (SSA). This observational study investigates the in situ impact of Pinaceae invasions upon native soil fungi associated with Nothofagaceae hosts in SSA.

Methods

We performed soil nutrient testing and metabarcode sequencing of fungi in the rhizosphere of Nothofagus antarctica and Nothofagus dombeyi invaded by Pinaceae trees to determine whether co-invasive fungi might impact native soil fungi. Sampling transects extended from invasions into adjacent Nothofagus stands without invasive Pinaceae.

Results

The fungal community composition of the Nothofagaceae rhizosphere was dominated by plant-associated Mortierellaceae OTUs in metabarcode data. Mortierellaceae OTU relative abundance was significantly reduced near invasions of Pinus contorta (Pinaceae). Invasions of Pseudotsuga menziesii (Pinaceae) and Pinus contorta were associated with reduced relative abundance of Nothofagus-associated ECM OTUS in the Nothofagus rhizosphere. Pinus contorta invasions were also associated with reduced soil organic matter, total carbon, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen.

Conclusion

Further empirical study is warranted to investigate the hypothesis that Mortierellaceae and Pinaceae-specific /suillus-rhizopogon ECM fungi compete for nutrients bound in soil organic matter. Such competition may have potential long-term legacy effects upon post-invasion restoration efforts and implications for Pinaceae invasions globally.

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Data availability

Genetic data: Raw sequence reads presented in this manuscript are deposited in the GenBank Short Read Archive (SRA) (BioProject number: PRJNA916756).

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Viviana Pangare and Jorge Greco of La Reserva El Foyel for their kind assistance and for permitting research access to the reserve. We would also like to thank Parques Nacionales de Argentina for issuing research and collection permits (projects 720, 1444, and 1543) and Dr. Eduardo Nouhra for his assistance in coordinating the permit for project 720.

Funding

This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant DEB 1354802 (M.E.S.) and an Advanced Postdoc Mobility Fellowship (P300P3_158523) from the Swiss National Science Foundation (C.T.).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

The Research was designed by Alija Bajro Mujic, Martin Nuñez, and Matthew Smith. Field locality selection and field collection was performed by Alija Bajro Mujic and Nahuel Policelli. All analyses were performed by Alija Bajro Mujic and Camille Truong. The manuscript was written by Alija Bajro Mujic with significant contributions from all co-authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alija Bajro Mujic.

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Competing interests

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Responsible Editor: Janusz J Zwiazek.

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Mujic, A.B., Policelli, N., Nuñez, M.A. et al. Co-invasive ectomycorrhizal fungi alter native soil fungal communities. Plant Soil 484, 547–567 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05820-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05820-8

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