Abstract Detail

Mycological Section

Dunkirk, Nora [1], Peay, Kabir [2].

Assessing Coprophilous Fungal Community Composition in Tule Elk dung: Molecular vs Culture Methods.

Animal dung is a nutrient-rich environment home to a diverse community of fungi. While coprophilous succession is a classic pattern in mycology, it has been studied primarily using morphological identification of fruiting structures. We tested whether patterns of succession observed from fruiting bodies matched patterns of succession as determined by high throughput sequencing using Elk dung collected in Point Reyes National Seashore. We compared overlap in the two approaches using DNA sequences from fruiting bodies and cultures isolated from dung and grown with aseptic culture techniques in sterile petri dishes. Fungal community composition was assessed over a period of 28 days. Fungal composition on elk dung pellets changed over time in a predictable fashion using both morphological and molecular approaches to characterize the fungal community. Our methods showed a predictable difference between total fungal diversity found through MiSeq and fungal diversity detected through fungal cultures. However, there was significant overlap in the most abundant taxa identified through both methods. As most of the common fungi in this system are culturable and amenable to experimentation, this research demonstrates the potential for dung fungi to serve as a model system for ecological research.

1 - Stanford University, Biology, 385 Serra Mall, Herrin Labs room 227, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
2 - Stanford University, Biology, 385 Serra Mall, Herrin Labs room 227, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

Keywords:
Fungi
Community Assembly
succession
fungal cultures
diversity.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PMY051
Abstract ID:518
Candidate for Awards:None