| The aim of the project is to examine in situ the extent of root colonisation by Phlebiopsis gigantea and other saprotrophic wood-decay fungi at the sites of stump treatment with biocontrol agent of P. gigantea and to determine impact of the treatment on the below-ground fungal communities colonising living roots of trees. From the biological point of view, large-scale application of biocontrol agent may influence composition and diversity of resident fungal species due to competition for the same ecological niches, and therefore might invoke alterations in forest ecosystems. The central hypothesis in the project is that saprotrophic wood-decay fungi may colonise and functionally interact with living tree roots and due to this ecological plasticity may form a continuum from saprotrophism to beneficial mycorrhizal symbioses. In support for this, in our recent studies saprotrophic basidiomycetes, including widely used biocontrol agent P. gigantea and endangered species Phlebia centrifuga, were occasionally found inhabiting living mycorrhizal root tips. This indicates that some saprotrophs are able to form biotrophic associations with living tree roots. However, currently available knowledge is largely fragmented and this topic has never been investigated systematically. The proposed project is planned for one year period of time and will include field sampling, laboratory work, data analyses and scientific publishing. Field sampling of tree roots and adjacent soil will be done from distinct replanted clear-cuts and thinned forest sites, where stumps following harvesting of the trees were treated with ROTSTOP® biocontrol agent of the P. gigantea. Sampling will be carried out at one-month-old and one-, two- and three-years-old sites of the treatment to evaluate short- and long-term effects. Control samples will be taken at corresponding non-treated sites. Analyses will include morphological characterisation of colonised fine roots and molecular identification of fungi both from individual fine roots and from soil by high throughput parallel sequencing methods based on 454-pyrosequencing technology. The project will reveal as yet unknown whether and how widespread the biotrophic associations are in wood-decay fungi. It will also provide new insights into fungal ecology and evolution, and contribute to our better understanding about human impact on fungal biodiversity in forest ecosystems. This project is of interdisciplinary aspect and involves subject areas of plant physiology and forest mycology. As the project deals with wood-decay fungi which are of tremendous economical and ecological importance, and will include endangered and industrially important fungal species, it is also of high relevance to the subject area in nature conservation and forestry. Thus, a broad community in the subject areas mentioned is expected to benefit form the new knowledge which will be acquired during the project work. |