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Specialized mycorrhizal association between a partially mycoheterotrophic orchid Oreorchis indica and a Tomentella taxon

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Abstract

The evolution of full mycoheterotrophy in orchids likely occurs through intermediate stages (i.e., partial mycoheterotrophy or mixotrophy), in which adult plants obtain nutrition through both autotrophy and mycoheterotrophy. However, because of its cryptic manifestation, partial mycoheterotrophy has only been confirmed in slightly more than 20 orchid species. Here, we hypothesized that Oreorchis indica is partially mycoheterotrophic, since (i) Oreorchis is closely related to leafless Corallorhiza, and (ii) it possesses clustered, multi-branched rhizomes that are often found in fully mycoheterotrophic orchids. Accordingly, we investigated the nutritional modes of O. indica in a Japanese subboreal forest by measuring the 13C and 15N abundances and by community profiling of its mycorrhizal fungi. We found that O. indica mycorrhizal samples (all 12 samples from four individuals) were predominantly colonized by a single OTU of the obligate ectomycorrhizal Tomentella (Thelephoraceae). In addition, the leaves of O. indica were highly enriched in both 13C and 15N compared with those of co-occurring autotrophic plants. It was estimated that O. indica obtained 44.4 ± 6.2% of its carbon from fungal sources. These results strongly suggest that in the Oreorchis-Corallorhiza clade, full mycoheterotrophy evolved after the establishment of partial mycoheterotrophy, rather than through direct shifts from autotrophy.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Masayuki Sato for his help with the field study. We also thank Takako Shizuka and Hidehito Okada for valuable support in fungal DNA analysis.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the JSPS KAKENHI [Grant Numbers 17H05016 (KS) and 16H02524 (IT)], Joint Research Grant for the Environmental Isotope Study of Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, and Joint Usage/Research Grant from the Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, 657-8501, Japan

    Kenji Suetsugu

  2. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Takashi F. Haraguchi & Ichiro Tayasu

  3. Biodiversity Research Center, Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, Osaka Prefecture, 10-4 Koyamotomachi, Osaka, 572-0088, Neyagawa, Japan

    Takashi F. Haraguchi

  4. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan

    Akifumi S. Tanabe

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  1. Kenji Suetsugu
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  2. Takashi F. Haraguchi
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  3. Akifumi S. Tanabe
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Correspondence to Kenji Suetsugu.

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Suetsugu, K., Haraguchi, T.F., Tanabe, A.S. et al. Specialized mycorrhizal association between a partially mycoheterotrophic orchid Oreorchis indica and a Tomentella taxon. Mycorrhiza 31, 243–250 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-020-00999-z

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