The relationship between chlorophyllous spores and mycorrhizal associations in ferns: evidence from an evolutionary approach

Comparative analysis of mycorrhizal communities associated with Struthiopteris spicant (L.) Weiss across Europe and North America

Introduction

Ferns constitute the second largest group of vascular plants. Previous studies have shown that the diversity and composition of fern communities are influenced by resource availability and water stress, among other factors. However, little is known about the influence of these environmental factors on their biotic interactions, especially regarding the relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and ferns. The present study compares the mycorrhizal communities associated with 36 populations of Struthiopteris spicant L. Weiss across Europe and North America. This species exhibits a great tolerance to variations in light, nutrient, and pH conditions, and it can survive with and without mycorrhizae.

Methods

With the aim of determining which environmental factors impact the composition and abundance of the root-associated fungal communities in this species, we used an ITS-focused metabarcoding approach to identify the mycorrhizal fungi present and analyzed the influence of climatic and edaphic variables at global and regional scales.

Results and discussion

We encountered striking differences in the relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) between S. spicant populations at both spatial levels. We recorded a total of 902 fungal ASVs, but only 2- 4% of the total fungal diversity was observed in each individual, revealing that each fern had a unique fungal community. Light availability and the interactive action of pH and soil nitrogen concentration showed a positive influence on AMF relative abundance, explaining 89% of the variance. However, environmental factors could only explain 4- 8% of the variability in AMF community composition, indicating that it might be determined by stochastic processes. These results support the hypothesis that ferns may be more independent of mycorrhization than other plant groups and interact with fungi in a more opportunistic manner.

Fern mycorrhizae do not respond to fertilization in a tropical montane forest

Ferns are known to have a lower incidence of mycorrhization than angiosperms. It has been suggested that this results from carbon being more limiting to fern growth than nutrient availability, but this assertion has not been tested yet. In the present study, we took advantage of a fertilization experiment with nitrogen and phosphorus on cloud forest plots of the Ecuadorean Andes for 15 years. A previous analysis revealed changes in the abundances of fern species in the fertilized plots compared to the control plots and hypothesized that this might be related to the responses of the mycorrhizal relationships to nutrient availability. We revisited the plots to assess the root-associated fungal communities of two epiphytic and two terrestrial fern species that showed shifts in abundance. We sampled and analyzed the roots of 125 individuals following a metabarcoding approach. We recovered 1382 fungal ASVs, with a dominance of members of Tremellales (Basidiomycota) and Heliotales (Ascomycota). The fungal diversity was highly partitioned with little overlap between individuals. We found marked differences between terrestrial and epiphytic species, with the latter fundamentally missing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We found no effect of fertilization on the diversity or relative abundance of the fungal assemblages. Still, we observed a direct impact of phosphorus fertilization on its concentration in the fern leaves. We conclude that fern-fungi relationships in the study site are not restricted by nutrient availability and suggest the existence of little specificity on the fungal partners relative to the host fern species.

Facultative mycorrhization in a fern (Struthiopteris spicant L. Weiss) is bound to light intensity

BACKGROUND

The establishment of mycorrhizal relationships between a fungus and a plant typically enhances nutrient and water uptake for the latter while securing a carbon source for the fungus. However, under a particular set of environmental conditions, such as low availability of light and abundant nutrients in the soil, the resources invested in the maintenance of the fungi surpass the benefits obtained by the host. In those cases, facultative mycorrhizal plants are capable of surviving without symbiosis. Facultative mycorrhization in ferns has been overlooked until now. The present study measured the response of Struthiopteris spicant L. Weiss, and its root-associated fungi to different levels of light and nutrient availability in terms of growth, mycorrhizal presence, and leaf nutrient content. This fern species exhibits a great tolerance to variable light, nutrient, and pH conditions, and it has been found with and without mycorrhizae. We conducted a greenhouse experiment with 80 specimens of S. spicant and three factors (Light, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen) resulting in eight treatments.

RESULTS

We found a significant influence of the factor light on fungal community composition, plant biomass, and nutrient accumulation. Departing from a lack of colonization at the initial stage, plants showed a remarkable increment of more than 80% in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) richness and abundance in their roots when grown under high light conditions, compared with the ones in low light. We also observed an upward trend of C:P and C:N ratios and the above- and belowground biomass production when AMF abundance increased. Furthermore, the compositional analysis of the whole fungal communities associated with S. spicant roots revealed clear differences among low-light and high-light treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to investigate the importance of light and nutrient availability in determining fern-AMF relationships. We confirmed that Struthiopteris spicant is a facultative mycorrhizal plant. The composition and diversity of AMF found in the roots of this fern are strongly influenced by light and less by nutrient conditions. Our study shows that ferns respond very sensitively to changes in environmental factors, leading to shifts in the associated mycorrhizal communities.

The relationship between chlorophyllous spores and mycorrhizal associations in ferns: evidence from an evolutionary approach

PREMISE

Approximately 14% of all fern species have physiologically active chlorophyllous spores that are much more short-lived than the more common and dormant achlorophyllous spores. Most chlorophyllous-spored species (70%) are epiphytes and account for almost 37% of all epiphytic ferns. Chlorophyllous-spored ferns are also overrepresented among fern species in habitats with waterlogged soils, of which nearly 60% have chlorophyllous spores. Ferns in these disparate habitat types also have a low incidence of mycorrhizal associations. We therefore hypothesized that autotrophic chlorophyllous spores represent an adaptation of ferns to habitats with scarce mycorrhizal associations.

METHODS

We evaluated the coevolution of chlorophyllous spores and mycorrhizal associations in ferns and their relation to habitat type using phylogenetic comparative methods.

RESULTS

Although we did not find support for the coevolution of spore type and mycorrhizal associations, we did find that chlorophyllous spores and the absence of mycorrhizal associations have coevolved with epiphytic and waterlogged habitats. Transition rates to epiphytic and waterlogged habitats were significantly higher in species with chlorophyllous spores compared to achlorophyllous lineages.

CONCLUSIONS

Spore type and mycorrhizal associations appear to play important roles in the radiation of ferns into different habitat types. Future work should focus on clarifying the functional significance of these associations.