First detection of Endogone ectomycorrhizas in natural oak forests.

The order Endogonales in Mucoromycotina, an early divergent lineage of fungi, includes ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. This order is therefore considered a key taxon for elucidation of the evolution of EM associations. Recent studies have revealed high diversity of EM lineages of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota; however, EM associations of Endogonales and its relatives remain largely unknown. In this study, EM root tips with a unique fungal sheath, with aseptate and highly branched hyphae of variable widths, were identified in Quercus acutissima and Quercus crispula forests in the temperate zone of Japan. The mycobionts were confirmed as Endogone sp., which were placed as a sister clade of Endogone pisiformis, based on phylogenetic analyses of the small and large subunits of the nuclear ribosomal RNA and elongation factor-1α genes. This is the first report of EM of Endogone in natural forests of the Northern Hemisphere and the first finding on Quercus.