Assessment of mycobiome of dead wood of a protected zone of boreal Europe using Mycopins method
Click the Poster to View Full Screen, Right click to save image
Grant: Independent Research course
Adriana Inoa
CoPIs:
Maria Seidle, Carla Salib
College:
The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology
Major:
Biology
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Maria Shumskaya
Abstract:
The presence of saproxylic (dead wood) fungi is crucial to maintaining balance in ecosystems as they feast on wood and animal caucuses, leaving their nutrient rich product behind to be recycled by secondary fungal organisms. For this exchange of nutrients to occur, the secondary fungi species must colonize the deadwood, resulting in the diversification of the fungal communities within an ecosystem.
The aim of this research is to observe factors affecting fungal wood decay, such as animal access, humidity, and wood type. To achieve the goal of this research a new, efficient, and inexpensive technique was drafted to observe the specific interactions between the vast communities of wood colonizing fungi and the wood they inhabit by analyzing early colonization habits. It involves a series of sequential steps that allow for the complete analysis of developmental fungal communities in response to their environment, resources available, and timing of infiltration into the wood. Using the saproxylic organism’s natural ability to penetrate deadwood, an accurate depiction of this occurrence can be recreated using Mycopins method.).
Sterile Mycopins (wooden furniture pins) were placed in a row using wire and then dug underground in a reserve in Finland. Different terrains, wood type and texture, were all variables that were considered when determining the migration pattern of fungal species into the wood within a specific time. These pins were placed in different transects, A, B, C, and D to cover a wide amount of area allowing for better analysis of the saproxylic organisms present within that region. The Mycopins were dug out every two weeks throughout a period of 2022-2023, in order to be later analyzed via DNA metabarcoding, which includes DNA isolation, fungal DNA ITS region amplification, NGS sequencing, and biostatical analysis. The usage of different study sites including a swamp, a common forest, and protected forests (those with and without reindeer access) was beneficial for observing the effect of the diverse ecological influences on wood decay.
To accomplish the purpose of this research, our research group first drilled 75 mycopins from transect A, which is a transect to study a protected part of the forest in Finland, to collect internal wood dust. Once this was complete the DNA was isolated using a soil purification kit from Qiagen. The purified DNA was amplified using PCR. The DNA samples were then sequenced using Next Generation sequencing. The bio statistical analysis was done viaonline pipeline SCATA, which allowed for the correct identification of the fungal species that colonized the wood dowels.
Expected results of this research project such as a list of fungal communities colonizing hardwood and softwood described in this research will be published via GBIF.org. The successful completion and publication of a manuscript is anticipated by the end of 2024. This project not only broadens the understanding of fungi and the intricacies of the decomposition process of different woods in different environments but it also showcases a new technique that efficiently enhances our understanding of ecosystem dynamic