Functional diversity in resource use by fungi

• DOI: 10.1890/09-0654.1
• Publication Date: 2010-06-22T05:04:14Z
• Authors: Krista L. McGuire; Elizabeth Bent; James Borneman; Arundhati Majumder; Steven D. Allison; Kathleen K. Treseder
• Keywords: Nutrient cycle; Litter; Plant litter

Fungi influence nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, as they are major regulators of decomposition and soil respiration. However, little is known about the substrate preferences individual fungal species outside laboratory culture studies. If active fungi differ their situ, then changes diversity due to global change may dramatically ecosystems. To test responses taxa specific substrates, we used a nucleotide-analogue procedure boreal forest Alaska (USA). Specifically, added four organic N compounds commonly found plant litter (arginine, glutamate, lignocellulose, tannin-protein) litterbags filled with decomposed leaf (black spruce aspen) assessed using qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction), oligonucleotide fingerprinting rRNA genes, sequencing. We also compared sequences from our experiment concurrent warming see if that targeted more recalcitrant would respond positively warming. responded differently additions communities were different across types (spruce vs. aspen). Active lignocellulose experimental Additionally, resource-use patterns genetically correlated, suggesting it be possible predict ecological function based on genetic information. Together, these results imply functionally diverse reductions have consequences for ecosystem functioning.