Ectomycorrhizal fungi play multifunctional roles during symbioses with higher plants. They can serve as bioprotectors, biofertilizers, bioremediators and stress indicators. Further, they are the true “mycoindicators” of forest ecosystems, where an enormous diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi can be found. Some ectomycorrhizal fungi also produce edible sporocarps, i.e., fruiting bodies, which are important for the food industry. Ectomycorrhizal fungi also produce various metal chelating molecules, which are of remarkable biotechnological significance and which also secrete useful secondary metabolites. Molecular approaches are required for the identification and differentiation of fungi forming symbioses with higher plants, while molecular tools are important to understand how genes are expressed during symbiosis with higher plants. Students, researchers and teachers of botany, mycology, microbiology, forestry, and biotechnology will find a valuable source of information in this Soil Biology volume.
Author(s): Francis Q. Brearley (auth.), Mahendra Rai, Ajit Varma (eds.)
Series: Soil Biology 25
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 2011
Language: English
Pages: 459
Tags: Agriculture; Soil Science & Conservation
Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
The Importance of Ectomycorrhizas for the Growth of Dipterocarps and the Efficacy of Ectomycorrhizal Inoculation Schemes....Pages 3-17
The Ectomycorrhizal Symbiosis in South America: Morphology, Colonization, and Diversity....Pages 19-41
Ectomycorrhizal Inoculum and Inoculation Techniques....Pages 43-63
Front Matter....Pages 65-65
Systematics and Ecology of Tropical Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Using Molecular Approaches....Pages 67-85
The Molecular Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Essence in Association: A Review of Differentially Expressed Fungal Genes During Symbiosis Formation....Pages 87-121
Agrobacterium tumefaciens -Mediated Transformation of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi....Pages 123-141
Biotechnological Processes Used in Controlled Ectomycorrhizal Practices....Pages 143-155
Signaling in Ectomycorrhizal Symbiosis Establishment....Pages 157-175
RNA Silencing in Ectomycorrhizal Fungi....Pages 177-206
Front Matter....Pages 207-207
Ectomycoremediation: An Eco-Friendly Technique for the Remediation of Polluted Sites....Pages 209-229
Metal Elements and the Diversity and Function of Ectomycorrhizal Communities....Pages 231-254
A Conceptual Framework for Up-Scaling Ecological Processes and Application to Ectomycorrhizal Fungi....Pages 255-299
Mycobioindication of Stress in Forest Ecosystems....Pages 301-322
Effects of Pesticides on the Growth of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Ectomycorrhiza Formation....Pages 323-346
Metal-Chelating Agents from Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Their Biotechnological Potential....Pages 347-369
Ectomycorrhiza and Secondary Metabolites....Pages 371-385
C:N Interactions and the Cost:Benefit Balance in Ectomycorrhizae....Pages 387-403
Ectomycorrhizal Interaction Between Cantharellus and Dendrocalamus ....Pages 405-428
Edible Ectomycorrhizal Fungi: Cultivation, Conservation and Challenges....Pages 429-453
Back Matter....Pages 455-459
