Abstract
Ectomycorrhizae (ECM) of Lactarius aff. omphaliformis Romagn., Russula alnijorullensis (Sing.) Sing. and Cortinarius tucumanensis Mos. on Andean alder (Alnus acuminata Kunth) were characterized and identified. The identification of the fungal symbionts was achieved by morpho-anatomical observations of mycorrhizae and by comparison of ITS-RFLP patterns obtained from ECM and fruitbodies. L. aff. omphaliformis ECM differed in some morphological details such as ramification and mantle type from ECM of the same species on A. glutinosa. L. aff. omphaliformis ECM show an orange to ochre mantle containing latex cells, which stain with sulpho-vanillin, emanating hyphae without clamps. R. alnijorullensis ECM represent a typical Russula-type-ECM, light yellow to pinkish, the outer mantle being composed of triangular latex-filled cells staining with sulpho-vanillin, emanating hyphae without clamps. C. tucumanensis ECM exhibit a white (silvery) to yellowish brown mantle covered with soil particles, emanating hyphae with clamps.
This work was supported partially by PROYUNGAS (1999, 2001). A.B. is grateful to DAAD, FOMEC and CONICET for the fellowship provided. A.B. thanks the people of the GSF (GSF-National Research Centre for Environment and Health, Neuherberg,Germany) and the Biodiversity Research Ludwig Maximilians, Universität München, for kindly sharing their knowledge. We thank Shilpi Sharma for language corrections.