Summary• Compared with Sanger sequencing-based methods, pyrosequencing provides orders of magnitude more data on the diversity of organisms in their natural habitat, but its technological biases and relative accuracy remain poorly understood.• This study compares the performance of pyrosequencing and traditional sequencing for species' recovery of ectomycorrhizal fungi on root tips in a Cameroonian rain forest and addresses biases related to multi-template PCR and pyrosequencing analyses.• Pyrosequencing and the traditional method yielded qualitatively similar results, but there were slight, but significant, differences that affected the taxonomic view of the fungal community. We found that most pyrosequencing singletons were artifactual and contained a strongly elevated proportion of insertions compared with natural intra-and interspecific variation. The alternative primers, DNA extraction methods and PCR replicates strongly influenced the richness and community composition as recovered by pyrosequencing.• Pyrosequencing offers a powerful alternative for the identification of ectomycorrhizal fungi in pooled root samples, but requires careful selection of molecular tools. A well-populated backbone database facilitates the detection of biological and technical artifacts. The pyrosequencing pipeline is available at

Mycorrhizal fungi play a key role in mineral nutrition of terrestrial plants, but the factors affecting natural distribution, diversity and community composition of particularly tropical fungi remain poorly understood. This study addresses shifts in community structure and species frequency of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi in relation to host taxa, soil depth and spatial structure in four contrasting African ecosystems. We used the rDNA and plastid trnL intron sequence analysis for identification of fungi and host plants, respectively. By partitioning out spatial autocorrelation in plant and fungal distribution, we suggest that African EcM fungal communities are little structured by soil horizon and host at the plant species and family levels. These findings contrast with patterns of vegetation in these forests and EcM fungal communities in other tropical and temperate ecosystems. The low level of host preference indirectly supports an earlier hypothesis that pioneer Phyllanthaceae may facilitate the establishment of late successional Fabaceae and potentially other EcM host trees by providing compatible fungal inoculum in deforested and naturally disturbed ecosystems of tropical Africa.

BackgroundMajority of the people in rural areas depend on traditional fungi-based medicines to combat different illnesses. This ethnomycological survey was undertaken to document the traditional knowledge of mushrooms among the communities in the Kilum-Ijim mountain forest reserve. Although macrofungi are exploited for food and medicine, their ethnomycological knowledge has not been documented in this ecosystem.MethodsA field study was carried out between 2014 and 2015; 14 mushrooms used by the local communities were collected and identified using the polymorphism of the ribosomal ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 regions. Semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and pictorial method were used to collect information on edibility, local names, indigenous knowledge, and the role of macrofungi in ten communities.ResultsEthnomycological findings revealed that mushrooms were used as food and medicine, while the non-edible species were regarded as food from Satan. Eight species, Polyporus tenuiculus, Termitomyces striatus, Termitomyces microcarpus Auricularia polytricha, Laetiporus sulphureus, Termitomyces sp.1, Termitomyces sp.2, and Polyporus dictyopus, were reported as edible and Auricularia polytricha, Daldinia concentrica, Ganoderma applanatum, Lentinus squarrosulus, Polyporus dictyopus, Termitomyces microcarpus, Trametes versicolor, Vascellum pretense and Xylaria sp., were used as medicine in traditional health care. Local names were found to be a very important factor in distinguishing between edible, medicinal, and poisonous mushrooms. Edible mushrooms are called “awo’oh” in Belo and “Kiwoh” in Oku. Poisonous mushrooms were commonly referred to as “awo’oh Satan” in Belo and “Kiwohfiyini” in Oku. Mushrooms were highly valued as a source of protein and as a substitute for meat in their diets. It is worth noting that Polyporus dictyopus was reported here for the first time in literature as an edible mushroom species.ConclusionLocal knowledge of medicinal mushrooms in the treatment of different illness still exists in all ten villages surveyed. Elderly men and women appear to play an important role in primary health care services in these communities. This survey underscores the need to preserve and document traditional knowledge of the different medicinal mushrooms used in treating different illnesses and for more future scientific research on the mushrooms to determine their efficacy and their safety.

A field survey was carried out to investigate the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with Gnetum spp. in Cameroon. The extent and variation of ectomycorrhizal colonisation as well as the degree of host specificity were evaluated. Gnetum spp. were found to be almost always ectomycorrhizal in all sites visited. There were just two ectomycorrhizal morphotypes ('yellow' and 'white') associated with this plant. Such low diversity is unusual for an ectomycorrhizal plant. The yellow morphotype was the most widespread and prevalent and was identified by morphological and molecular methods to have been formed with Scleroderma sinnamariense. Propagules of this fungus were present in soil collected from farm lands, cocoa plantations, Chromolaena and bush fallows, as well as in a relatively undisturbed forest harbouring ectomycorrhizal legumes. The fungus responsible for the white morphotype was identified as also belonging to the genus Scleroderma by ITS sequence similarity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal structures were absent in cleared and stained portions of the roots.

This study assessed the diversity and distribution of trees and shrubs in a 16 ha disturbed plot in the Takamanda Rainforest. Linear transects (8) were laid in the field which radiated from the centre of the plot. The girth of the trees and shrubs were measured and species identified. A total of 99 species (72 trees and 27 shrubs) belonging to 87 genera and 34 families were recorded. Caesalpinaceae was the most represented tree family (9 species) while Rubiaceae was the most represented among shrubs (9 species). Baphia nitida recorded the highest tree density (143.75 individual's ha