The effects of irrigation treatments on Tuber melanosporum extramatrical mycelium and the surrounding ectomycorrhizal fungal community in a British Columbia truffle orchard
department or school: Science, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)
department or school: Biology, Department of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Loverock, Laura Rebecca
issued: 2024-05-16T20:44:44Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The French black truffle is the prized fruiting body of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tuber melanosporum. International markets price the black truffle from 2000-4000 Euros per kilogram, leading to the cultivation of T. melanosporum on nearly every continent. Despite the high value and broad range of cultivated areas, little is known about how to optimize T. melanosporum growth, or mitigate potential ectomycorrhizal fungal competitors. This is particularly true in novel environments. I investigated the optimization of T. melanosporum biomass and assessed the ectomycorrhizal fungal community in roots and soil in relation to differing levels of irrigation in a T. melanosporum - Quercus robur orchard in Vancouver, Canada. I applied three irrigation treatments from June to September 2021 and quantified the abundance of T. melanosporum DNA in the soil and the composition of the surrounding soil and root ectomycorrhizal fungal community. During the study, which coincided with an extreme heatwave and moderate drought, irrigation treatments were maintained at high (- 30 kPa), moderate (- 80 kPa), or low levels (up to -260 kPa) of soil moisture. Soil samples were collected monthly at 50 cm and 100 cm from each tree for quantification of T. melanosporum DNA. The ectomycorrhizal fungal community was sampled in August from the soil and mycorrhizal root tips found 50 cm from the tree. DNA of T. melanosporum was quantified using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), whereas composition of the ectomycorrhizal fungal communities was determined by PacBio Sequel II sequencing. Generalized Additive Models revealed that the DNA abundance of T. melanosporum was highest under low-irrigation trees during the hottest and driest weeks, while the lowest abundance of T. melanosporum was in the high irrigation treatment. Overall, the abundance of T. melanosporum decreased with increasing water content. Irrigation did not affect the fungal communities in roots or soil, but several dominant species were ide…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/88330
note: The effects of irrigation treatments on Tuber melanosporum extramatrical mycelium and the surrounding ectomycorrhizal fungal community in a British Columbia truffle orchard by Laura Rebecca Loverock B.Sc. (hons.), University of British Columbia Okanagan, 2018 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Biology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan Campus) May 2024 © Laura Loverock, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: The effects of irrigation treatments on Tuber melanosporum extramatrical mycelium and the surrounding ectomycorrhizal fungal community in a British Columbia truffle orchard. Submitted by Laura Rebecca Loverock in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Biology. Dr. Dan Durall, Faculty of Science, UBC Okanagan Co-Supervisor Dr. Kirsten Hannam, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Co-Supervisor Dr. Shannon Berch, Faculty of Science, UBC Vancouver Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Melanie Jones, Faculty of Science, UBC Okanagan Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract The French black truffle is the prized fruiting body of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tuber melanosporum. International markets price the black truffle from 2000-4000 Euros per kilogram, leading to the cultivation of T. melanosporum on nearly every continent. Despite the high value and broad range of cultivated areas, little is known about how to optimize T. melanosporum growth, or mitigate potential ectomycorrhizal fungal competitors. This is particularly true in novel environments. I investigated the optimization of T. melanosporum biomass and assessed the ectomycorrhizal fungal community in roots and soil in relation to differing levels of irrigation in a T. melanosporum - Quercus robur orchard in Vancouver, Canada. I applied three irrigation treatments f…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-09
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0443561
language: eng
degree discipline: Biology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Durall, Daniel
contributor: Hannam, Kirsten
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88330