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Small-scale Diversity and Succession of Fungi in the Detritusphere of Rye Residues

  • Fungal Microbiology
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Abstract

Transport of litter carbon in the detritusphere might determine fungal abundance and diversity at the small scale. Rye residues were applied to the surface of soil cores with two different water contents and incubated at 10°C for 2 and 12 weeks. Fungal community structure was analysed by constructing clone libraries of 18S rDNA and subsequent sequencing. Litter addition induced fungal succession in the adjacent soil and decreased detectable fungal diversity mainly due to the huge supply of substrates. Ergosterol content and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activity indicated fungal growth after 2 weeks. Simultaneously, the structure of the fungal community changed, with Mortierellaceae proliferating during the initial phase of litter decomposition. Ergosterol measurements were unable to detect this early fungal growth because Mortierellaceae do not produce ergosterol. In the late phase during decomposition of polymeric substrates, like cellulose and chitin, the fungal community was dominated by Trichocladium asperum. Water content influenced community composition only during the first 2 weeks due to its influence on transport processes in the detritusphere and on competition between fungal species. Our results underline the importance of species identification in understanding decomposition processes in soil.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jacqueline Götze and Ronny Kellner for technical support with the molecular work, Nicole Schmid for technical support with the sample preparation, and Joachim Ingwersen for valuable comments on the experimental design. Funding was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) priority programme SPP 1090: “Böden als Quelle und Senke für CO 2 -Mechanismen und Regulation der Stabilisierung organischer Substanz in Böden.”

Authors contribution: C. Poll was responsible for the experimental design and work, conducted the final statistic analyses, and wrote the manuscript; T. Brune conducted the construction of the clone libraries, the sequencing of 18S, and sequence quality control; D. Begerow was responsible for the design of the molecular experiment and data analysis of sequences and supervised the molecular work of T. Brune; E. Kandeler was responsible for the overall experimental design and concept and supervised the Ph.D. of C. Poll. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, Soil Biology Section, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Straße 27, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Christian Poll & Ellen Kandeler

  2. Institute for Food Science and Biotechnology, Fermentation Technology Section, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstraße 23, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Thomas Brune

  3. Department of Evolution and Biodiversity of Plants, Geobotany Section, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    Dominik Begerow

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  1. Christian Poll
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  2. Thomas Brune
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  4. Ellen Kandeler
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Correspondence to Christian Poll.

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Poll, C., Brune, T., Begerow, D. et al. Small-scale Diversity and Succession of Fungi in the Detritusphere of Rye Residues. Microb Ecol 59, 130–140 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-009-9541-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-009-9541-9

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