Caracterización morfológica y genética de los hongos ectomicorrízicos asociados a bosques de Pinus hartwegii en el Parque Nacional Cofre de Perote, Veracruz

Highland ecosystems ectomycorrhizal fungal communities have been scarcely studied in Mexico. In this work, we characterized morphologically and genetically the ectomycorrhizae associated to a Pinus hartwegii forest in the Cofre de Perote National Park, Veracruz. The study took place in 3 sampling sites; at each site, we established 4 transects of 500 m. Every 100 m we collected 3 soil samples. Fungal DNA was extracted from the ectomycorrhizae, and the ITS region amplified and sequenced. The taxonomic identity of the fungi was obtained by the nucleotide similarity to the sequences deposited in GenBank. We described 14 morphotypes, among these are: Piloderma olivaceum, Cortinarius diasemospermus, C. mucosus, Hydnellum concrescens, Russula aff. betularum, Sebacina vermifera, Sistotrema confluens and the genera Byssocorticium, and Pseudotomentella. These ectomycorrhizal fungi have high potential in reforestation plans, with possible benefits on seedling survival due to the fact that they are ecologically adapted to the local environmental conditions.