Identification of Ectomycorrhiza Associated with Dipterocarpus alatus

Dipterocarpus alatus, a forest tree species extensively grown in Thailand has high economical and ecological value because of its uniform plant structure and hard wood suitable for timber. Currently, the country's D. alatus forests have been overlogged and degraded that a research team from King Mongul University of Technology in Thoburi investigated ways to establish new trees in the country. The team found out that D. alatus is symbiotically associated with an ectomycorrhizal fungi for nutrient uptake, tolerance to drought and protection of the roots from pathogen. Thus,  the success of D. alatus reforestation would also depend upon the knowledge of biological diversity and symbiotic range between the two organisms.

The research team has successfully identified the responsible ectomycorrhizae by amplifying and sequencing the mitochondrial large subunit rDNA (mtLrDNA) and comparing the sequence to known sequences in the GenBank. The results revealed that the most abundant fungi belong to the family Thelephoraceae in the Tomentella spp..

 For the abstract of the research visit: http://safetybio.agri.kps.ku.ac.th/images/stories/pdf/ectomycorrhizal.pdf or contact Supat Attathom of the Biotechnology and Biosafety Information Centre (BBIC) at safetybio@yahoo.com.