Data from: Amplicon-pyrosequencing based detection of compositional shifts in bryophyte-associated fungal communities along an elevation gradient.

Although bryophytes are a dominant vegetation component of boreal and alpine ecosystems, little is known about their associated fungal communities. HPLC assays of ergosterol (fungal biomass) and amplicon pyrosequencing of the ITS2 region of rDNA were used to investigate how the fungal communities associated with four bryophyte species changed across an elevational gradient transitioning from conifer forest to the low alpine. Fungal biomass and OTU richness associated with the four moss hosts did not vary significantly across the gradient (p>0.05), and both were more strongly affected by host and tissue-type. Despite largely constant levels of fungal biomass, distinct shifts in community composition of fungi associated with Hylocomium, Pleurozium, and Polytrichum occured between the elevation zones of the gradient. This likely is a result of influence on fungal communities by major environmental factors such as temperature, directly or indirectly mediated by, or interacting with, the response of other components of the vegetation (i.e. the dominant trees). Fungal communities associated with Dicranum were an exception, exhibiting spatial autocorrelation between plots, and no significant structuring by elevation. Nevertheless, the detection of distinct fungal assemblages associated with a single host growing in different elevation zones along an elevational gradient is of particular relevance in light of the ongoing changes in vegetation patterns in boreal and alpine systems due to global climate warming.

尽管苔藓植物（bryophytes）是北方针叶林与高山生态系统中的优势植被类群，学界对其共生真菌群落的认知仍较为有限。本研究采用麦角固醇（真菌生物量标志物）的高效液相色谱（High Performance Liquid Chromatography, HPLC）检测法，以及核糖体DNA（rDNA）ITS2区的扩增子焦磷酸测序技术，探究了4种苔藓植物的共生真菌群落在从针叶林向低海拔高山过渡的海拔梯度上的变化规律。结果显示，4种苔藓宿主的共生真菌生物量与操作分类单元（Operational Taxonomic Unit, OTU）丰富度在该海拔梯度上均无显著变化（p>0.05），且二者均更多受宿主种类与组织类型的影响。尽管真菌生物量水平整体保持稳定，但与灰藓属（Hylocomium）、拟垂枝藓属（Pleurozium）以及金发藓属（Polytrichum）共生的真菌群落在该梯度的不同海拔区间内发生了显著的群落组成偏移，这一现象可能源于温度等主要环境因子对真菌群落的调控：这些因子可直接或间接通过植被其他组分（即优势乔木）的响应过程介导，或与该响应过程相互作用。而与曲尾藓属（Dicranum）共生的真菌群落则为特例：其仅表现出样方间的空间自相关性，并未受海拔梯度的显著结构化调控。尽管如此，鉴于全球气候变暖导致北方针叶林与高山生态系统的植被格局正持续发生变化，在单一宿主的共生真菌群落在海拔梯度的不同海拔区间内呈现出显著群落组成差异这一发现，仍具有重要的研究意义。