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Characterizing root-associated fungal communities and soils of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands that naturally produce Oregon white truffles (Tuber oregonense and Tuber gibbosum)

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Abstract

Many truffle species in the genus Tuber are endemic to North America. Some of these have commercial value such as Tuber oregonense and Tuber gibbosum, commonly known as Oregon white truffles. Most of what is known about the ecology of these truffles comes from observational data. These truffle species form ectomycorrhizas with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and sometimes fruit abundantly in early successional forest regrowth. The goal of this study was to characterize fungal communities and soils associated with truffle-producing Douglas-fir sites. We extracted DNA from roots of five trees at four different truffle-producing Douglas-fir sites (n = 20). We amplified the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) and sequenced amplicons with 454 pyrosequencing. After quality filtering, we assembled 15,713 sequences into 150 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Pezizomycetes (Tuber and Pyronemataceae) were the most abundant taxa detected followed by Helotiales. Agaricomycetes represented most by Thelephoraceae, Russulaceae, and Inocybaceae were also abundant. A total of five Tuber species were detected. T. oregonense was the most abundant OTU, followed by T. gibbosum and Wilcoxina mikolae. Fungal root endophytes were also detected and well represented by Chalara and Phialocephala spp. Fungal community structure and soil chemistry differed between sites. This study represents the first characterization of the fungal communities in Douglas-fir stands producing Oregon white truffles. We found that Tuber species can be dominant ectomycorrhizal symbionts of Douglas-fir. Truffle fungi are also important in forest health, food webs, and as a non-timber forest resource that can contribute to rural economies.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the land owners who graciously allowed us to sample on their properties. GNMB and GB are grateful to AgBioResearch and Michigan State University for research support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci & Gregory Bonito

  2. New World Truffieres, Incorporation, Eugene, OR, 97405, USA

    Charles Lefevre

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  1. Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci
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  2. Charles Lefevre
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Correspondence to Gregory Bonito.

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Fig. S1

Soils suitable for Oregon white (blue) and black (red) truffles. Site W (teal), R site (grey), F site (yellow) and BR site (red-orange). The USA map was modified from http://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=1682&lang=en (GIF 118 kb)

High resolution Image (EPS 732 kb)

Fig. S2

Relative abundances of the 15 most frequently observed OTUs within each of the studied sites (GIF 73 kb)

High resolution Image (EPS 35 kb)

Fig. S3

Function stressplot draws a Shepard diagram, which is a plot of ordination distances and monotone or linear fit line against original dissimilarities. In addition, it displays two correlation-like statistics on the goodness of fit in the graph. The non-metric fit is based on stress S and defined as R2 = 1-S*S. The “linear fit” is the squared correlation between fitted values and ordination distances (GIF 38 kb)

High resolution Image (EPS 96 kb)

Fig. S4

Constrained Analysis of Principal Coordinates (CAP) of the soil characteristics obtained in the four sampled sites. The model to test goodness of constraints (sites) was significant at p ≤ 0.01 after 9999 permutations (GIF 79 kb)

High resolution Image (EPS 53 kb)

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Benucci, G.M.N., Lefevre, C. & Bonito, G. Characterizing root-associated fungal communities and soils of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands that naturally produce Oregon white truffles (Tuber oregonense and Tuber gibbosum). Mycorrhiza 26, 367–376 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-015-0677-9

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