Ectomycorrhiza descriptions

Following  are the links for databases on Ectomycorrhiza descriptions:

1)  British Columbia Ectomycorrhizal Research Network 

This BCERN web site brings together the on-line version of various ectomycorrhiza databases- Manual of Concise Descriptions of North American Ectomycorrhizae (CDE); the Ectomycorrhizae Descriptions Database (EDD); Photoprofiles of Ecotomycorrhizae (POE) and is updated on a regular basis.

a)  Manual of Concise Descriptions of North American Ectomycorrhizae (CDE)

This manual provides information primarily for the North-American audience of ecologically –oriented researchers with illustrated descriptions, including DNA characterization, of ectomycorrhizae identified to plant and fungus species. Ectomycorrhizae fungal species that have been described elsewhere are included, though preference and emphasis is on previously undescribed ectomycorrhizae.

b)  Ectomycorrhizae Descriptions Database (EDD)

EDD is a search tool which allows users to browse or search a database of ectomycorrhizae morphological descriptions. It has been developed with the purpose of bringing together as many published and unpublished descriptions as possible so as to serve as a comprehensive tool for identification of ectomycorrhizae in British Columbia and Pacific Northwest.

The EDD can be searched either by:

-- Browsing a catalog of ectomycorrhizae types in the database or,

-- By a synoptic search of key features and characters.  

c)  Photoprofiles of Ectomycorrhizae (POE)

The web page provides a list of all photoprofiles available and these can be viewed online or downloaded as PDF files. Data from the photoprofiles have been entered into EDD and can be included in the synoptic search. 

2)  Determination of Ectomycorrhizae

The database offers definitions of the descriptors (characters) of ectomycorrhizae used, morphological descriptions of the ectomycorrhizae, original hand drawings and photographs as well as an interactive multi-access key. Currently, DEEMY comprises of about 320 types of ectomycorrhizae characterized by 420 often multi-state characters. 

3)  Database on Ectomycorrhizal Diversity of Kumaun region

It is the first Indian database on Ectomycorrhizae descriptions in the Kumaun region of Nainital, Uttarakhand that entails the details of a plethora of ectomycorrhizal species present in that region.

4)  eMyCo- Ectomycorrhizal community database

It is a tool created to gather and analyse data on ectomycorrhizal fungal communities, with particular reference to the Mediterranean sea. eMyCo is made up by independent surveys each characterizing an ectomycorrhizal community and its habitat. Surveys are composed by a number of elementary taxonomical units which are described using: morphological characters of ectomycorrhizas, ITS sequences of the symbiotic fungus, abundance and frequency values. eMyCo is provided with a search system enable to compare different surveys sharing one or more parameters and/or elementary taxonomical units.

Sequence collation

Objective is to provide links to major mycorrhizal sequence databases for use by researchers involved in this field. It could be used for molecular characterization, phylogenetic studies and various in-silico and in-vitro activities (PCR, hybridization etc.)

Following are the links to major databases for mycorrhizal sequence retrieval:

1)  NCBI-nucleotide

NCBI-nucleotide is a central repository for sequences of various organisms. There are more than 16,000 entries relating to mycorrhiza. Apart from the commonly found Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and Ectomycorrhiza, results pertaining to Ericoid mycorrhiza can also be found. Sequence retrieval is easy and can be downloaded in any format, most commonly the FASTA format.

2)  UNITE

It comprises well annotated fungal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequences from well-defined herbarium specimens that include full herbarium reference identification data, collector/source and ecological data. At present UNITE contains 758 ITS sequences from 455 species and 67 genera of ECM fungi. UNITE can be searched by taxon name, via sequence similarity using blast-n, and via phylogenetic sequence identification. It should be noted that the current version of UNITE is dedicated to the reliable identification of Ectomycorrhizal fungi

3)  Database on Ectomycorrhizal Diversity of Kumaun region

It summarizes publicly available Glomeromycota DNA sequence data and associated metadata that originate from ecological studies based on “environmental samples” or
taxonomic investigations based on cultured fungi. The user can either browse or search through the available sequential information.