Carbon availability affects already large species-specific differences in chemical composition of ectomycorrhizal fungal mycelia in pure culture

• Published in: Mycorrhiza Vol. 33; no. 5-6; pp. 303 - 319
• Main Authors: Fransson, Petra, Robertson, A. H. Jean, Campbell, Colin D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Availability; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbohydrates; Carbon; Carbon - metabolism; Chemical composition; chemical structure; Ecology; ectomycorrhizae; Ectomycorrhizas; Forestry; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Fourier transforms; fungi; Infrared spectroscopy; Life Sciences; Microbiology; Mikrobiologi; mycelium; Mycorrhizae - metabolism; Organic matter; Plant Sciences; Polysaccharides; Proteins; Pure culture; Saccharides; Soil - chemistry; Soil Microbiology; Soil organic matter; Species; C:N ratio; Carbohydrates; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Mycelia; Cell wall composition; Soil organic carbon
• ISSN: 0940-6360; 1432-1890; 1432-1890
• DOI: 10.1007/s00572-023-01128-2

Although ectomycorrhizal (ECM) contribution to soil organic matter processes receives increased attention, little is known about fundamental differences in chemical composition among species, and how that may be affected by carbon (C) availability. Here, we study how 16 species (incl. 19 isolates) grown in pure culture at three different C:N ratios (10:1, 20:1, and 40:1) vary in chemical structure, using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We hypothesized that C availability impacts directly on chemical composition, expecting increased C availability to lead to more carbohydrates and less proteins in the mycelia. There were strong and significant effects of ECM species ( R 2  = 0.873 and P  = 0.001) and large species-specific differences in chemical composition. Chemical composition also changed significantly with C availability, and increased C led to more polysaccharides and less proteins for many species, but not all. Understanding how chemical composition change with altered C availability is a first step towards understanding their role in organic matter accumulation and decomposition.