Survival in the soil of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor and the effects of a mycorrhiza helper Pseudomonas fluorescens

In disinfected forest nursery soils, inoculating Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings with the ectomycorrhizal fungal strain Laccaria bicolor S238N significantly increases tree growth after outplantating. However, the success of the inoculation depends on survival of the fungal inoculum in the soil during the pre-symbiotic life of the fungus. We followed the survival of L. bicolor S238N in autoclaved nursery soil in the glasshouse, and under gnotobiotic conditions in autoclaved or gamma -irradiated nursery soil. We also studied the effect of the mycorrhiza helper bacterium Pseudomonas fluorcscens BBc6R8, which promotes the Douglas fir-L bicolor S238N symbiosis, on fungal viability. In the glasshouse, fungal viability was assessed by trapping with Douglas fir seedlings. We showed that the fungus retained its viability in a pre-symbiotic state in the soil at least for 23 weeks, which is much longer than that reported in the literature for other ectomycorrhizal fungi. The bacterium did not significantly modify the survival of the fungus. In the gnotobiotic experiments, ergosterol, a specific fungal membrane component, was used to quantify fungal biomass. Fungal behaviour differed with the disinfection technique used, which modified the chemical characteristics of the initial soil. There was no fungal growth in the autoclaved soil but there was a rapid increase of fungal biomass in the irradiated soil. The effect of the bacterium on fungal biomass also varied with a significant stimulation in the autoclaved soil vs. a significant inhibition in the irradiated soil. Our results show that the beneficial effect of the bacterium on the fungus depends on the condition of the fungus, i.e. the greatest benefit occurs when the fungus is growing under unfavourable conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.