Abstract Detail
Ecological Section Branco, Sara [1]. Serpentine soils do not limit ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity. Extreme environments impose strong selective pressures and host poorly diverse and specialized communities. Serpentine soils are an extreme environment rich in Mg and heavy metals known to shape plant evolutionary histories. Here, I investigate ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities from Mediterranean monospecific Quercus ilex subsp ballota forests growing on serpentine and non-serpentine soil. I found very different but equally rich serpentine and non-serpentine fungal communities composed by a wide array of taxa. All major fungal lineages were detected on both forest types and there was no evidence for adaptive radiations associated with the serpentine habitat. These results indicate that serpentine soils do not limit ECM fungal diversity and might not constitute a physiological barrier for these fungi.
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1 - University of Chicago, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, 1025 E 57th St, Culver Hall 402, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
Keywords:
Ectomycorrhizal
serpentine.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for BSA Sections
Session: 73
Location: Wasatch A/Cliff Lodge - Level C
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Time: 4:15 PM
Number: 73003
Abstract ID:337 | 
