The mycorrhizal fungal associations of the vunerable Sophora fraseri (Fabaceae)

Abstract

Sophora fraseri Benth. is a vulnerable Australian shrub that occurs on rainforest margins in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales. The mycorrhizal fungi that colonise roots of S.fraseri are not known although other members of the Fabaceae are typically colonised by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi from the Glomus genus. In this study we have sampled the roots of S. fraseri plants growing at 4 different sites in south-east Queensland. The fungal community of the roots of the plants was assessed via DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with AM fungal-specific primers, cloning and sequencing. These analyses showed that roots of S. fraseri contained a number of non-AM fungal species including Elsinoe and Phoma and four mycorrhizal Glomus taxa, two of which are related to G. intraradices and two others which are currently unnamed.