Ceratobasidium sp. 379 growing in the lab [Photo credit: Mike Kane]

Ceratobasidium sp. 379

Orchid seeds require organic carbon acquired from mycorrhizal fungi to germinate and develop. To better understand the genome evolution of fungi that participate in the orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis, we are sequencing a variety of fungal species that have been demonstrated to germinate orchid seeds. Analyses of these genomes will reveal patterns that may explain their ability to interact with orchids.

Ceratobasidium sp. 379 was isolated from the roots of the charismatic Ghost orchid species, Dendrophylax lindenii, from a site in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA. This isolate does not facilitate D. lindenii seed germination in vitro but is closely related to another isolate sequenced for this project (Ceratobasidium sp. 394) that does facilitate seedling germination. It will be helpful to compare the genomes of these two fungal isolates to determine if any genomic differences can help account for their different germination abilities.