Our first paper on compatibility/incompatibility in Suillus is finally out! Suillus species are members of the bolete family that fruit in association with different members of the conifer family Pinaceae. Here’s what we report in this paper:
1. We tested 5 species of Suillus for ability to develop ectomycorrhizae on white pines (Pinus sect. Strobus) vs. hard pines (sect. Pinus). Pairings between individual species of Suillus and Pinus were scored as ‘compatible’ or ‘incompatible’.
2. RNASeq analysis reveals that all of the Suillus species were able to germinate with different pine hosts, but they (and their host) express different sets of genes during compatible vs. incompatible responses.
3. A distinct set of ‘core genes’ are expressed by both fungal and plant partners during compatible vs. incompatible interactions.
http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/
