Progress in the study of spatiotemporal distribution pattern of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities

Ectomycorrhizal fungi form a mycelial network underground to promote water and nutrient uptake by host plants, enhance host stress tolerance, and facilitate the colonization of host seedlings and the establishment of communities
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Under the background of climate change, the community diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi and their ecological functions will also change accordingly
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For example, global warming and long-term nitrogen deposition can lead to the loss of ectomycorrhizal fungal community diversity, which in turn affects the establishment of their host plant populations
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Exploring the spatiotemporal patterns of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities and their formation mechanisms is of great significance for predicting the potential impacts of environmental changes on ecosystems
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Elevation and season are two important environmental gradients for studying the spatiotemporal pattern of biomes
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The increase in altitude leads to a decrease in temperature, and the vegetation composition and snow cover change accordingly, while the alternation of seasons causes changes in environmental factors such as temperature and humidity
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Studies have shown that altitude or season has a significant impact on ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and community composition, but there is still a lack of research that considers the effects of both altitude and season on ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity and community composition
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Yang Zhuliang's team from Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out relevant research on this issue on a local scale.
Soil and mycorrhizal samples were collected along the altitude gradient (>1500 m) in Baima Snow Mountain, Deqin County, Yunnan Province in dry and wet seasons.
Acquisition, supplemented by amplicon sequencing analysis
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The study found that: Baima Snow Mountain has a very high diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi, with 3416 ASVs (sequence variants) and 691 OTUs (operational taxonomic units, equivalent to species) detected; the diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi in forests The area decreases with elevation, but increases significantly in the alpine meadow area
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In mycorrhizal samples, the diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi in wet season was higher than that in dry season, while in soil it showed an opposite seasonal pattern; ectomycorrhizal fungal communities existed at different altitudes and between seasons Strong species substitution and significant compositional differences; the effect of altitude on the ectomycorrhizal fungal community is greater than the effect of season, and the 400 m altitude gradient caused the ectomycorrhizal fungal community compositional difference equivalent to the community between the dry and wet seasons Alternative; greater environmental heterogeneity across the elevation gradient than across seasons shapes greater elevational variability in ectomycorrhizal fungal communities
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　　The related results were published in the microbiology journal Microbiology Spectrum
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The research is supported by the Strategic Pilot Science and Technology Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the General Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Applied Basic Research Project of Yunnan Province
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Unique and shared ectomycorrhizal fungal taxa at different altitudes in different seasons in mycorrhizal samples Source: Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences