Home • Ceratobasidium sp. 394 v1.0
Photo of Ceratobasidium sp. 394 v1.0
Ceratobasidium sp. 394 growing in the lab. [Photo credit: Dr. Mike Kane]

Ceratobasidium sp. 394

Orchid seeds require organic carbon acquired from mycorrhizal fungi to germinate and develop. To better understand the genome evolution of fungi that participate in the orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis, we are sequencing a variety of fungal species that have been demonstrated to germinate orchid seeds. Analyses of these genomes will reveal patterns that may explain their ability to interact with orchids.

Ceratobasidium sp. 394 was isolated from the roots of the charismatic Ghost orchid species, Dendrophylax lindenii, from a site in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA. This isolate facilitates D. lindenii seed germination in vitro which will be helpful for conservation efforts of this endangered orchid species (Hoang et al., 2016). In addition to 394, Ceratobasidium sp. 379 was isolated from the same population of orchids and did not facilitate seedling germination. It will be helpful to compare the genomes of these two fungal isolates to determine if any genomic differences can help account for their different germination abilities.

References:

  • Hoang et al. (2016) Comparative seed germination and seedling development of the ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii (Orchidaceae), and molecular identification of its mycorrhizal fungus from South Florida. Ann Bot 119(3):379-393 doi:10.1093/aob/mcw220