Uptake of an amino acid by ectomycorrhizal fungi in a boreal forest

We assessed the degree to which ectomycorrhizal fungi exploit organic nitrogen in situ. In an Alaskan boreal forest, we identified pairs of sporocarps from five taxa of ectomycorrhizal fungi. We added (13)C-labeled alanine to the soil surrounding one sporocarp within each pair; the second served as an unlabeled control. Peak rates of (13)C-respiration from alanine were higher in the labeled sporocarp plots than the controls, indicating that the (13)C-alanine was detectably respired from the soil. Reference plots adjacent to the sporocarps served as an indication of background (13)C-respiration rates released by the soil community as a whole. Ectomycorrhizal sporocarps displayed higher (13)C-respiration rates than their reference plots. Thus, the sporocarps and associated mycorrhizal mycelium appeared to contribute significantly to the release of alanine-derived (13)CO(2), confirming the hypothesis that ectomycorrhizal fungi may access soil amino acid pools under natural conditions. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.