Mycorrhizal fungal communities in boreal peatland forests. Fungus

Despite covering vast areas of boreal North America, the ecological factors structuring mycorrrhizal fungal communities in peatland forests are relatively poorly understood. To assess how these communities vary by age (younger v. mature), habitat (fen v. bog), and host (conifer trees v. ericaceous shrub), we sampled the roots of two canopy trees (Larix laricina and Picea mariana) and an ericaceous shrub (Ledum groenlandicum) at four sites in northern Minnesota, USA. To characterize the specific influence of host co-occurrence on mycorrhizal fungal community structure, we also conducted a greenhouse bioassay using the same three hosts. Root samples were assessed using Illumina-based high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the ITS1 rRNA gene region.