Research CulturingBlackwell Publishing Ltd. and direct DNA extraction find different fungi from the same ericoid mycorrhizal roots Tamara R. Allen1, Tony Millar1, Shannon M. Berch2 and Mary L. Berbee1 1Department of Botany, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; 2Ministry of Forestry, Research Branch Laboratory, 4300 North Road, Victoria, BC V8Z 5J3, Canada Summary Author for correspondence: • This study compares DNA and culture-based detection of fungi from 15 ericoid Mary L. Berbee mycorrhizal roots of salal (Gaultheria shallon), from Vancouver Island, BC Canada. Tel: (604) 822 2019 •From the 15 roots, we PCR amplified fungal DNAs and analyzed 156 clones that Fax: (604) 822 6809 Email:
[email protected] included the internal transcribed spacer two (ITS2). From 150 different subsections of the same roots, we cultured fungi and analyzed their ITS2 DNAs by RFLP patterns Received: 28 March 2003 or sequencing. We mapped the original position of each root section and recorded Accepted: 3 June 2003 fungi detected in each. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2003.00885.x • Phylogenetically, most cloned DNAs clustered among Sebacina spp. (Sebaci- naceae, Basidiomycota). Capronia sp. and Hymenoscyphus erica (Ascomycota) pre- dominated among the cultured fungi and formed intracellular hyphal coils in resynthesis experiments with salal. •We illustrate patterns of fungal diversity at the scale of individual roots and com- pare cloned and cultured fungi from each root. Indicating a systematic culturing detection bias, Sebacina DNAs predominated in 10 of the 15 roots yet Sebacina spp. never grew from cultures from the same roots or from among the > 200 ericoid mycorrhizal fungi previously cultured from different roots from the same site.