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Application of network theory to potential mycorrhizal networks

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Abstract

The concept of a common mycorrhizal network implies that the arrangement of plants and mycorrhizal fungi in a community shares properties with other networks. A network is a system of nodes connected by links. Here we apply network theory to mycorrhizas to determine whether the architecture of a potential common mycorrhizal network is random or scale-free. We analyzed mycorrhizal data from an oak woodland from two perspectives: the phytocentric view using trees as nodes and fungi as links and the mycocentric view using fungi as nodes and trees as links. From the phytocentric perspective, the distribution of potential mycorrhizal links, as measured by the number of ectomycorrhizal morphotypes on trees of Quercus garryana, was random with a short tail, implying that all the individuals of this species are more or less equal in linking to fungi in a potential network. From the mycocentric perspective, however, the distribution of plant links to fungi was scale-free, suggesting that certain fungus species may act as hubs with frequent connections to the network. Parallels exist between social networks and mycorrhizas that suggest future lines of study on mycorrhizal networks.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Henry Whitridge, Southern Oregon University; Caleb Southworth and Helen Southworth, University of Oregon, and Sam Bledsoe, Winter Creek Ranch, CA, for helpful discussions; and Harold Berninghausen, Southern Oregon University for the help in preparing the figures. This research was supported by National Science Foundation grants DEB-9981337 (D. Southworth), DEB-9981711 (C.S. Bledsoe, W.R. Horwath), and DEB-9981548 (Michael Allen, University of California at Riverside) through the Biocomplexity Program, and DBI-0115892 to the Biotechnology Center at Southern Oregon University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland, OR, 97520, USA

    D. Southworth

  2. Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA, 95606, USA

    X.-H. He, C. S. Bledsoe & W. R. Horwath

  3. Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    W. Swenson

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  1. D. Southworth
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  2. X.-H. He
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  3. W. Swenson
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  4. C. S. Bledsoe
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  5. W. R. Horwath
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Correspondence to D. Southworth.

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Southworth, D., He, XH., Swenson, W. et al. Application of network theory to potential mycorrhizal networks. Mycorrhiza 15, 589–595 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-005-0368-z

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