Abstract
Some epiphytic orchids in the tribe Vandeae are characterized by extremely vestigial leaves (even leafless). Thus, their leaves provide only a small proportion of carbon required for their growth and development, while a large portion of carbon may need to be supplied by their roots and mycorrhizal fungi (MF). The MF richness and composition of leafless epiphytic orchids, which belong to numerous genera with diverse ecophysiologies and wide geographical ranges, remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified the MF communities of seven leafless epiphytic species from three orchid genera from up to 17 sites in China using high-throughput sequencing. Our analyses revealed that the leafless epiphytic orchids have a highly specialized association with Ceratobasidiaceae. Several fungal OTUs were found in three different orchid genera and have promoted germinations of Chiloschista and Phalaenopsis, which may have been caused by convergent evolution of leafless epiphytic orchids. Furthermore, the MF composition of Taeniophyllum glandulosum was significantly affected by collection site and host tree. Our study provides new insights into mycorrhizal associations of epiphytic orchids.
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Acknowledgements
The following people are thanked for their assistances in sampling: Xin-Xin Zhu (Xinyang Normal University), Xi Liu (Wuyanling Natural Reserve), Hou-Cheng Xi, Yun-Hong Tan (Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS), Shi-Pin Chen (Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University), Mei Yang (Yachang Orchids Nature Reserve of Guangxi), Bing Liu (Institute of Botany, CAS), and Ye-Chun Xu (Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Ji-Dong Ya, Yuan-Yuan Li (Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS), Qiang Liu (Yunnan Forestry Technological College), Wei Lin, Xiang-Xiu Su (Fujian), Chang-Chun Ding (Wenshan University), Bing-Mou Wang (Panyu Central Hospital), Jun Liu (Zhejiang University), Xin-Xin Zhou (South China Botanical Garden, CAS), and Chao-Qun Wang (Guangdong Institute of Microbiology). Bang Feng, Ya-Huang Luo, and Sai Gong (Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS) are thanked for their help in data analysis. Raymond Porter is acknowledged for improvements of the manuscript.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31700026 and 31670342), Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects (No. 2019FB019), the Project for Construction of International Flower Technology Innovation Center and Achievement Industrialization (2019ZG006), and the Project for Innovation Team of Yunnan Province.
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Qin, J., Zhang, W., Feng, JQ. et al. Leafless epiphytic orchids share Ceratobasidiaceae mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza 31, 625–635 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-021-01043-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-021-01043-4