Plant geographic origin and phylogeny as potential drivers of community structure in root‐inhabiting fungi

Abstract

Root‐inhabiting fungal communities, including mutualists and antagonists, influence host plant performance, and can potentially shape plant community composition. However, there is uncertainty about how root‐inhabiting fungal communities are structured, and if fungal community characteristics are significant predictors of host plant abundance. In this study, we first assessed how root‐inhabiting fungal communities were structured in relation to the phylogeny and geographic origins (native vs. exotic) of their host plants in an old‐field community. In addition, we took into consideration the spatial arrangements (i.e. physical locations) of the individual host plants. We then tested if the relative abundances of pathogenic and beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi could predict host plant abundances. We found that host plant phylogeny was an important factor in structuring the whole fungal community, irrespective of host plant origin. Furthermore, the spatial arrangements of individual host plants were a strong predictor of AM fungal community structure. Host plant phylogeny and spatial arrangements appeared to similarly affect the structure of pathogenic fungal communities. No distinct differences were observed between native and exotic plant species in fungal community characteristics. The relative abundances of AM and pathogenic fungi were not significant predictors for observed abundances of their host plants. Synthesis. Host plant phylogeny and spatial arrangements can structure naturally occurring root‐inhabiting fungal communities. The absence of distinct differences in fungal community composition, including pathogens, in exotic and native plants suggests long residence times and the consequent naturalization of exotic species in the region, allowing for the establishment of similar plant–microbial interactions between native and exotic species.

Characterization of the habitat- and season-independent increase in fungal biomass induced by the invasive giant goldenrod and its impact on the fungivorous nematode community

“…In our research we focused on another Solidago species, outside its native range. In accordance with (Koyama et al 2019) Cladosporiaceae was identified as an abundant fungal family in the two habitat types under investigation. However, an opposite, positive correlation between Cladosporiaceae and Solidago gigantea was observed in this study.…”

“…Recently (Koyama et al 2019) studied root-inhabiting fungi in a wide range of native and exotic plant species in Canada. The plant selection included Solidago canadensis , in this context a native plant species.…”

Methods and approaches to advance soil macroecology

“…This is particularly true for mycorrhizal fungi, which form mutualisms with plants, and for which host specificity is an important geographical constraint on species distributions (Sato, Tsujino, Kurita, Yokoyama, & Agata, 2012). Hence, studies of community structure and biogeographical patterns of soil fungi are significantly improved when data on plant diversity and distributions are included within their models (Koyama, Maherali, & Antunes, 2019; Pellissier et al., 2014; Vályi, Mardhiah, Rillig, & Hempel, 2016). To this end, the FungalRoot database (Soudzilovskaia et al, 2020) provides key data on mycorrhizal associations with which to study the macroecology and biogeography of these interactions.…”

Similarities between invaders and native species: Moving past Darwin's naturalization conundrum

“…Some of these traits are difficult to measure, which may explain why data are sparse. Traits relating to some of these interactions may be phylogenetically conserved (e.g., shared pathogens or mutualists; Chen et al., ; Koyama, Maherali, & Antunes, ), highlighting the complementary role of phylogenetic relationships in studies of invasion.…”