Abstract:
Aneura pinguis (Aneuraceae) is a cosmopolitan
thalloid liverwort that shows a specific mycorrhiza-like
interaction with basidiomycetes. To date, tropical specimens
have not been studied in great depth. Samples of A.
pinguis were collected from 48 individuals in one plot in
South Ecuador and 54 individuals in five European
countries. Light and transmission electron microscopy and
molecular analyses based on nuclear rDNA coding for the
ribosomal large subunit (nucLSU) and from the 5.8s-ITS2
regions were carried out to identify the associated mycobionts
and to study their phylogenetic relationships. Microscopic
and ultrastructural investigations of the fungal colonisation
showed a high congruence between the European and the
Ecuadorian sites and confirmed previous results. Tulasnellales
are the only mycobionts that could be detected from
ultrastructural characters with certainty. Molecular phylogenetic
analysis indicated the presence of tulasnelloid fungi
from at least 13 distinct clades. The composition of the
communities of tulasnelloid fungi in A. pinguis differs
between Ecuador and Europe. The diversity of tulasnelloid
fungal partners was much higher at the Ecuadorian site.
