Title |
Host-specificity of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi for enhancing seed germination, protocorm formation and seedling development of over-collected medicinal orchid, Dendrobium devonianum |
Author |
Hui Huang1, Xiao-Meng Zi1, Hua Lin1, and Jiang-Yun Gao2* |
Address |
1Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, P. R. China, 2Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650091, P. R. China |
Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 56(1),42–48, 2018,
|
DOI |
10.1007/s12275-018-7225-1
|
Key Words |
Dendrobium devonianum, medicinal orchid, restoration-friendly cultivation, symbiotic seed germination |
Abstract |
All orchids maintain an obligate relationship with mycorrhizal
symbionts during seed germination. In most cases,
germination-enhancing fungi have been isolated from roots
of mature plants for conservation and cultivation purposes.
To understand the germination biology of Dendrobium devonianum,
an over-collected medicinal orchid, the seeds of
D. devonianum were inoculated with a fungal strain (FDd1)
isolated from naturally occurring protocorms of D. devonianum
and two other germination-enhancing fungal strains
(FDaI7 and FCb4) from D. aphyllum and Cymbidium mannii,
respectively. The fungal strain was isolated from five
protocorms of D. devonianum and identified as a species of
the genus Epulorhiza. In germination trials, treatments with
all of the three fungal strains showed a significant promoting
effect on seed germination and protocorm formation, compared
with the control treatment (no inoculation). However,
FDd1 fungal strain showed the greatest effectiveness followed
by FDaI7 and FCb4. For all inoculation and control treatments,
seeds developed to protocorms regardless of the presence
of illumination, whereas protocorms did not develop
to seedlings unless illumination was provided. The results
of our manipulative experiments confirmed the hypothesis
that mycorrhizae associated with orchid seedlings are highly
host-specific, and the degree of specificity may be life stagespecific
under in vitro conditions. The specific mycorrhizal
symbionts from protocorms can enhance restoration efforts
and the conservation of orchids such as D. devonianum. |