In vitro symbiotic seed germination of Oncidium flexuosum (Orchidaceae) by rhizoctonia-like mycorrhizal fungi

Symbiotic in vitro seed germination and protocorm development of Oncidium flexuosum is described for the first time. O. flexuosum seeds were inoculated with ten mycorrhizal isolates, originally obtained from the mycorrhiza of ten neotropical Brazilian orchid species, including O. flexuosum. One of the isolates belongs to Epulorhiza repens, two to Epulorhiza epiphytica, six to Ceratorhiza spp., and one to Rhizoctonia sp. Seeds inoculated with the M2 isolate of Ceratorhiza sp., originally isolated from the root system of wild O. flexuosum, promoted seed germination within 7 days and about 30% of the seedlings produced leaves after 50 days of incubation, all of which presented pelotons in some protocorm and rhizoid cells. The other isolates stimulated seed germination, although they did not lead to an ideal protocorm development. Seeds incubated in the absence of the mycorrhizal fungi failed to germinate. The degree of specificity and dependence of O. flexuosum from mycorrhizal fungi thus was evident. Aspects of the specificity, anatomy of the plant-fungus interaction and the importance of the fungal strain selection prior to the use of mycorrhizal fungi for the symbiotical O. flexuosum cultivation from seeds are discussed.