Data from: Host preference explains the high endemism of ectomycorrhizal fungi in a dipterocarp rainforest

In this study, we aimed to assess whether host preference could enhance
the endemism of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi that inhabit dipterocarp
rainforests. Highly similar sequences of 175 operational taxonomic units
(OTUs) for ECM fungi that were obtained from Lambir Hill’s National park,
Sarawak, Malaysia, were searched for in a nucleotide sequence database.
Using a two-step binomial model, the probability of presence for the query
OTUs and the registration rate of barcode sequences in each country were
simultaneously estimated. The results revealed that the probability of
presence in the respective countries increased clearly with increasing
species richness of Dipterocarpaceae and decreasing geographical distance
from Lambir. Furthermore, most ECM fungi in Lambir were shown to be
endemic to Malaysia and neighboring countries. These findings suggest that
dispersal limitation as well as host preference are responsible for the
high endemism of ECM fungi in dipterocarp rainforests. Moreover, host
preference likely determines the areas where ECM fungi potentially expand
and dispersal limitation creates distance–decay patterns within suitable
habitats. Although host preference has received less attention than
dispersal limitation, our findings support that host preference has a
profound influence on the global distribution of ECM fungi.