Diversity and effect of Trichoderma isolated from the roots of Pinus densiflora within the fairy ring of pine mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake)

Abstract

Pine mushroom (PM, Tricholoma matsutake) is an important ectomycorrhizal fungus in Asia primarily due to its value as a food delicacy. Recent studies have shown that fairy rings of PM have distinctive fungal communities, which suggests that other fungi influence the growth of PM. Trichoderma is a well-known saprotrophic fungus commonly found in pine roots within PM fairy rings; however, little is known about the diversity of Trichoderma associated with PM and how these species influence PM growth. This study focused on diversity of Trichoderma isolated from pine roots within PM fairy rings and how these species affect the growth of PM isolate. Based on tef1a phylogenetic analyses, nine Trichoderma species (261 isolates) were identified. Trichoderma songyi and T. spirale were the dominant species, and Trichoderma community varied geographically. Growth experiments indicated that metabolites from five Trichoderma species had a significant influence on the growth of PM isolates. Metabolites of two Trichoderma species increased PM growth, while those of three Trichoderma species suppressed the growth. Within the fairy rings, Trichoderma that had a positive or neutral effect comprised the majority of Trichoderma communities. The results of this study suggest that various Trichoderma species co-exist within PM fairy rings and that these species influence PM growth.

Successional Change of the Fungal Microbiome Pine Seedling Roots Inoculated With Tricholoma matsutake

“…While competition between ectomycorrhiza and other microfungi are common in soil ( Leake et al, 2003 ), several studies reported growth promotion of ectomycorrhizal fungi by microfungi isolated from soil ( Ogawa, 1976 ; Oh et al, 2018 ). For instance, Trichoderma and Oidiodendron species were exclusively isolated from the T. matsutake fruiting zone of P. densiflora forests ( Ogawa, 1977 ; Oh et al, 2018 , 2019 ), and high abundance of F. oxysporum was reported in Tuber magnatum -productive areas ( Mello et al, 2010 ). Likewise, we found that ectomycorrhizal fungi, such as Suillus were less abundant in root samples with T. matsutake than those without T. matsutake .…”

“…Likewise, we found that ectomycorrhizal fungi, such as Suillus were less abundant in root samples with T. matsutake than those without T. matsutake . Trichoderma might help survival of T. matsutake by promoting plant growth, root branching, and development ( Guzmán-Guzmán et al, 2019 ), or by inhibiting the growth of other ectomycorrhiza as reported between Trichoderma viride and Suillus bovinus in soil environment ( Mucha et al, 2008 ; Sabella et al, 2015 ; Oh et al, 2018 , 2019 ).…”

“…soil environment (Mucha et al, 2008;Sabella et al, 2015;Oh et al, 2018Oh et al, , 2019. Four OTUs were identified as keystone taxa: S. granulatus, C. pauciseptatum, Fusarium sp.…”

The Influence of Microfungi on the Mycelial Growth of Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Tricholoma matsutake

“…The recent development of molecular approaches based on nucleotide sequences resulted in better resolution to distinguish species with a similar growth morphology [52,53,54]. Although the ITS sequence is used as the fungal barcode [33], benA and tef1α are more efficiently used for the identification of Penicillium and Trichoderma , respectively [49,50]. The use of suitable markers for a particular group seems to increase species diversity and identification accuracy.…”

“…As for the fungal species, Ogawa and Kawai [32] reported that metabolites of Mortierella species promoted the hyphal growth of PM about twofold. Similarly, metabolites of some Trichoderma species isolated within PM fairy rings also promoted PM growth [33]. We speculated that other microfungi that promote PM mycelial growth can be found within the PM fairy rings.…”