Root fungi in wild strawberry: root colonization depends on host inbreeding

摘要

Question: What is the effect of level of host inbreeding on fungal root colonization?Hypothesis: Selfed plants are poorer hosts than outcrossed ones and should be less intensively colonizedOrganism: Hermaphroditic individuals of the self-compatible wild strawberry Fragaria virginiana (Rosaceae)Methods: Selfed and outcrossed progeny were grown at three resource levels. Plants were scored for vegetative size, leaf disease, and root fungi in semi-natural conditionsResults: Hyphal colonization was greater in outcrossed than in selfed plants. but the effect was marginal for vesicular colonization Neither resource level nor maternal genotype influenced the effect of plant inbreeding on colonization. But fungi associated with plants in high resources produced more vesicles Inbreeding depression in plant vegetative size was positively correlated with cross differential root colonization.