Testing the "one-log-one-genet" hypothesis: methodological challenges of population sampling for the Hawaiian wood-decay fungus Rhodocollybia laulaha.

We test our "one-log-one-genet" sampling method for the Hawaiian mushroom Rhodocollybia laulaha that posits all R. laulaha mushrooms collected from a single log represent a single genet. We also examine the potential expansion of single genets beyond the confines of one log and the temporal persistence of genets in nature.

Fungal communities influence root exudation rates in pine seedlings.

Root exudates are hypothesized to play a central role in belowground food webs, nutrient turnover, and soil C dynamics in forests, but little is known about the extent to which root-associated microbial communities influence exudation rates in trees. We used a novel experimental technique to inoculate loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seedlings with indigenous forest fungi to examine how diverse fungal communities influence exudation.

Ectomycorrhizal iconoclasts: the ITS rDNA diversity and nitrophilic tendencies of fetid Russula.

Fetid Russula are frequently dominant ectomycorrhizal fungi, and some appear to be especially nitrophilic. However, little is known about their phylogenetic relationships or how common nitrophilic traits are in this group. This study addresses this gap and presents a phylogenetic analysis of ITS rDNA sequences and a meta-analysis of studies that examine ectomycorrhizal fungi response to nitrogen increase.

Investigating the allelic evolution of an imperfect microsatellite locus in the Hawaiian mushroom Rhodocollybia laulaha.

The evolutionary mechanisms that give rise to microsatellite alleles remain poorly understood in general and are especially understudied for fungal microsatellite loci. The unusual G28 microsatellite locus was developed from the Hawaiian mushroom Rhodocollybia laulaha. Here, we employ a novel approach to test for allele size homoplasy and examine competing mechanistic models of microsatellite evolution in the context of biogeographic expectations for this locus based on Hawaiian geologic history.

Variability in the IGS1 region of Rhodocollybia laulaha: is it allelic, genomic, or artificial?

We tested the nuclear ribosomal intergenic spacer 1 (IGS1) to evaluate: 1) the utility of this gene region in the study of intra-lineage variation in the Hawaiian mushroom Rhodocollybia laulaha (Basidiomycota, Marasmiaceae); 2) the possibility of PCR-mediated artifacts from multiple cloned IGS1 inserts for five of the nine specimens included; and 3) the assignment of individual specimens to specific haplotype group genotypes. The IGS1 was sequenced for nine specimens of R. laulaha and multiple cloned copies of the IGS1 were sequenced for five of those nine to compare intra-specimen variation (i.