Abstract
In natural terrestrial environments, nutrients are often patchily and sparsely distributed, and the microclimate is constantly changing both temporally and spatially. To survive, fungi must be able to transfer to a new resource before the nutrient supplies in their current food base are exhausted. While the majority of fungi propagate as spores, some basidiomycetes can grow out of a resource as mycelium in search of new resources. The mycelium of these fungi typically aggregates to form linear organs, termed cords or rhizomorphs, that ramify at the soil-litter interface in forests, interconnecting disparate litter components to form extensive (many square meters or even hectares), long-lived (many years) systems. These mycelial systems form effective dispersal mechanisms in space and time. This article reviews the two main, but not mutually exclusive, mycelial dispersal (resource capture) strategies: (1) a “sit and wait” strategy, whereby a large mycelial network waits for resources to land on it and then actively colonises those resources; and (2) growing and searching actively for new resources. The way in which mycelia balance exploration and nutrient transport, and robustness to damage, against “cost” of production and speed with which an area can be colonised, is explored using techniques borrowed from graph theory and statistical mechanics.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abdalla SHM, Boddy L (1996) Effect of soil and litter type on outgrowth patterns of mycelial systems of Phanerochaete velutina. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 20:195–204
Bebber DP, Hynes J, Darrah PR, Boddy L, Fricker MD (2007a) Fungal solutions to transport network design. Proc R Soc Biol 274:2307–2315
Bebber DP, Tlalka M, Hynes J, Darrah PR, Ashford A, Watkinson SC, Boddy L, Fricker MD (2007b) Imaging complex nutrient dynamics in mycelial networks. In: Gadd GM, Watkinson SC, Dyer P (eds) Fungi and the environment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 1–21
Boddy L (1984) The micro-environment of basidiomycete mycelia in temperate deciduous woodlands. In: Jennings DH, Rayner ADM (eds) Ecology and physiology of the fungal mycelium, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 261–289
Boddy L (1993) Saprotrophic cord-forming fungi: warfare strategies and other ecological aspects. Mycol Res 97:641–655
Boddy L (1999) Saprotrophic cord-forming fungi: meeting the challenge of heterogeneous environments. Mycologia 91:13–32
Boddy L, Jones TH (2007) Mycelial responses in heterogeneous environments: parallels with macroorganisms. In: Gadd GM, Watkinson SC, Dyer P (eds) Fungi and the environment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 112–140
Boddy L, Jones TH (2008) Interactions between Basidiomycota and invertebrates. In: Boddy L, Frankland JC, van West P (eds) Ecology of saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 155–180
Boddy L, Wells JM, Culshaw C, Donnelly DP (1999) Fractal analysis in studies of mycelium in soil. Geoderma 88:301–328
Bolton RG (1993) Resource acquisition by migratory mycelial cord systems of Phanerochaete velutina and Hypholoma fasciculare. PhD thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff
Bolton RG, Boddy L (1993) Characterisation of the spatial aspects of foraging mycelial cord systems using fractal geometry. Mycol Res 97:762–768
Bretherton S, Tordoff GM, Jones TH, Boddy L (2006) Compensatory growth of Phanerochaete velutina mycelial systems grazed by Folsomia candida (Collembola). FEMS Microbiol Ecol 58:33–44
Burnett J (2003) Fungal populations and species. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Cairney JWG (1992) Translocation of solutes in ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic rhizomorphs. Mycol Res 96:135–141
Cairney JWG (2005) Basidiomycete mycelia in forest soils: dimensions, dynamics and roles in nutrient distribution. Mycol Res 109:7–20
Coates D, Rayner ADM (1985) Fungal population and community development in beech logs. II. Establishment via the buried cut surface. New Phytol 101:173–181
Donnelly DP (1995) Comparative physiology and ecology of mycelial cord growth of Stropharia caerulea and Phanerochaete velutina. PhD Thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff
Donnelly DP, Boddy L (1997a) Development of mycelial systems of Stropharia caerulea and Phanerochaete velutina on soil: effect of temperature and water potential. Mycol Res 101:705–713
Donnelly DP, Boddy L (1997b) Resource acquisition by the mycelialcord-former Stropharia caerulea: effect of resource quantity and quality. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 23:195–205
Donnelly DP, Boddy L (1998) Developmental and morphological responses of mycelial systems of Stropharia caerulea and Phanerochaete velutina to soil nutrient enrichment. New Phytol 138:519–531
Donnelly DP, Boddy L (2001) Mycelial dynamics during interactions between Stropharia caerulea and other cord-forming, saprotrophic basidiomycetes. New Phytol 151:691–704
Donnelly DP, Wilkins MF, Boddy L (1995) An integrated image analysis approach for determining biomass, radial extent and box-count fractal dimension of macroscopic mycelial systems. Binary 7:19–28
Dowson CG, Rayner ADM, Boddy L (1986) Outgrowth patterns of mycelial cord-forming basidiomycetes from and between woody resource units in soil. J Gen Microbiol 132:203–211
Dowson CG, Rayner ADM, Boddy L (1988) Foraging patterns of Phallus impudicus, Phanerochaete laevis and Steccherinum fimbriatum between discontinuous resource units in soil. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 53:291–298
Dowson CG, Rayner ADM, Boddy L (1989) Spatial dynamics and interactions of the woodland fairy ring fungus, Clitocybe nebularis. New Phytol 111:699–705
Ferguson BA, Dreisbach TA, Parks CG, Filipo GM, Schmitt CL (2003) Coarse-scale population structure of pathogenic Armillaria species in a mixed-conifer forest in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon. Can J For Res 33:612–623
Fricker MD, Boddy L, Bebber DP (2007) Network organization of mycelial fungi. In: Howard RJ, Gow NAR (eds) The Mycota: biology of the fungal cell, vol 8. Springer, Berlin, pp 309–330
Fricker MD, Bebber D, Boddy L (2008) Mycelial networks: structure and dynamics. In: Boddy L, Frankland JC, van West P (eds) Ecology of saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 3–18
Harold S, Tordoff GM, Jones TH, Boddy L (2005) Mycelial responses of Hypholoma fasciculare to collembola grazing: effect of inoculum age, nutrient status and resource quality. Mycol Res 109:927–935
Hedger J (1990) Fungi in the tropical forest canopy. Mycologist 4:200–202
Hughes CL, Boddy L (1996) Sequential encounter of wood resources by mycelial cords of Phanerochaete velutina: effect on growth patterns and phosphorus allocation. New Phytol 133:713–726
Kallio T (1973) Influence of ultraviolet radiation on the colony formation of Fomes annosus diaspores suspended in water. Karstenia 14:5–8
Kampichler C, Rolschewski J, Donnelly DP, Boddy L (2004) Collembolan grazing affects the growth strategy of the cord-forming fungus Hypholoma fasciculare. Soil Biol Biochem 36:591–599
Lamour A, Termorshuizen AJ, Volker D, Jeger MJ (2007) Network formation by rhizomorphs of Armillaria lutea in natural soil: their description and ecological significance. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 62:222–232
Lodge DJ, McDowell WH, Macy J, Ward SK, Leisso R, Claudio-Campos K, Kühnert K (2008) Distribution and role of matforming saprobic basidiomycetes in a tropical forest. In: Boddy L, Frankland JC, van West P (eds) Ecology of saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 197–210
Olsson S, Hansson BS (1995) The action potential-like activity found in fungal mycelium is sensitive to stimulation. Naturwissenschaften 82:30–31
Owen SL (1997) Comparative development of the mycelial cord-forming fungi Coprinus picaceus and Phanerochaete velutina, with particular emphasis on pH and nutrient reallocation. PhD thesis, University of Wales, Cardiff
Rayner ADM, Powell KA, Thompson W, Jennings DH (1985) Morphogenesis of vegetative organs. In: Moore D, Casselton LA, Wood DA, Frankland JC (eds) Developmental biology of higher fungi. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 249–279
Rayner ADM, Griffith GS, Ainsworth AM (1995) Mycelia interconnectedness. In: Gow NAR, Gadd GM (eds) The growing fungus. Chapman & Hall, London, pp 21–40
Smith ML, Bruhn JN, Anderson, JB (1992) The fungus Armillaria bulbosa is among the largest and oldest living organisms. Nature (Lond) 356:428–431
Stenlid J (1986) Biological and ecological aspects of the infection biology of Heterobasidion annosum. Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet, Uppsala
Stenlid J (2008) Population biology of forest decomposer basidiomycetes. In: Boddy L, Frankland JC, van West P (eds) Ecology of saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 105–122
Thompson W, Boddy L (1988) Decomposition of suppressed oak trees in even-aged plantations. II. Colonisation of tree roots by cord and rhizomorph producing basidiomycetes. New Phytol 93:277–291
Thompson W, Rayner ADM (1982) Spatial structure of a population of Tricholomopsis platyphylla in a woodland site. New Phytol 92:103–114
Thompson W, Rayner ADM (1983) Extent development and functioning of mycelial cord systems in soil. Trans Br Mycol Soc 81:333–345
Tlalka M, Bebber DP, Darrah P, Watkinson SC (2008) Mycelial networks: nutrient uptake, translocation, and role in ecosystems. In: Boddy L, Frankland JC, van West P (eds) Ecology of saprotrophic basidiomycetes. Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp 43–62
Tordoff GM, Jones TH, Boddy L (2006) Grazing by Folsomia candida (Collembola) affects the mycelial morphology of the cord-forming basidiomycetes Hypholoma fasciculare, Phanerochaete velutina and Resinicium bicolor differently during early outgrowth onto soil. Mycol Res 110:335–345
Watkinson SC (1999) Metabolism and hyphal differentiation in large basidiomycete colonies. In: Gow NAR, Robson G, Gadd GM (eds) The fungal colony. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 127–157
Watkinson SC, Bebber D, Darrah P, Fricker M, Tlalka M, Boddy L (2006) The role of wood decay fungi in the carbon and nitrogen dynamics of the forest floor. In: Gadd GM (ed) Fungi in biogeochemical cycles. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 151–181
Wells JM, Boddy L (1990) Wood decay, and phosphorus and fungal biomass allocation, in mycelial cord systems. New Phytol 116:285–295
Wells JM, Hughes C, Boddy L (1990) The fate of soil-derived phosphorus in mycelial cord systems of Phanerochaete velutina and Phallus impudicus. New Phytol 114:595–606
Wells JM, Donnelly DP, Boddy L (1997) Patch formation and developmental polarity in mycelial cord systems of Phanerochaete velutina on nutrient-depleted soil. New Phytol 136:653–665
Wells JM, Harris MJ, Boddy L (1998) Temporary phosphorus partitioning in mycelial systems of the cord-forming basidiomycete Phanerochaete velutina. New Phytol 140:283–293
Wells JM, Harris MJ, Boddy L (1999) Dynamics of mycelial growth and phosphorus partitioning in developing Phanerochaete velutina: dependence on carbon availability. New Phytol 142:325–334
Wells JM, Thomas J, Boddy L (2001) Soil water potential shifts: developmental responses and dependence on phosphorus translocation by the cord-forming basidiomycete Phanerochaete velutina. Mycol Res 105:859–867
Wood J, Tordoff GM, Jones TH, Boddy L (2006) Reorganization of mycelial networks of Phanerochaete velutina in response to new woody resources and collembola grazing. Mycol Res 110:985–993
Zakaria AJ, Boddy L (2002) Mycelial foraging by Resinicium bicolor: interactive effects of resource quantity, quality and soil composition. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 40:135–142
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Boddy, L., Hynes, J., Bebber, D.P. et al. Saprotrophic cord systems: dispersal mechanisms in space and time. Mycoscience 50, 9–19 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10267-008-0450-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10267-008-0450-4