High throughput sequencing combined with null model tests reveals specific plant-fungi associations linked to seedling establishment and survival

1. Plant-fungal interactions are important for plant community assembly, but quantifying these relationships remains challenging. High throughput sequencing of fungal communities allows us to identify plant-fungal associations at a high level of resolution, but often fails to provide information on taxonomic and functional assignment of fungi.
2. We transplanted seeds of Pinus cembra across an elevational gradient (1850-2250 m a.s.l.) and identified environmental factors and known fungal associates important for seedling establishment and survival. We then applied null model tests to identify taxonomically unassigned fungi associated with pine recruitment.
3. Early seedling establishment was positively associated with multiple abiotic factors, while seedling survival was positively associated with the absence of a known pathogenic fungus and other biotic factors. Null model tests identified known mycorrhizal partners and a large number of unassigned operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ...

1. 植物与真菌的相互作用（Plant-fungal interactions）对于植物群落组装至关重要，但量化这类关联仍颇具挑战。真菌群落高通量测序（high throughput sequencing）技术可高分辨率地鉴定植物-真菌关联，但往往无法提供真菌的分类学与功能注释信息。
2. 我们沿海拔梯度（1850-2250 m a.s.l.）移植了瑞士松（Pinus cembra）的种子，鉴定出对幼苗建成与存活至关重要的环境因子与已知真菌共生伙伴。随后我们采用零模型检验（null model tests），以识别与松树更新相关的未分类学注释真菌。
3. 幼苗早期建成与多种非生物因子呈正相关，而幼苗存活则与已知病原真菌的缺失及其他生物因子呈正相关。零模型检验识别出已知菌根共生伙伴，以及大量未分类的操作分类单元（operational taxonomic units，OTUs）……