Isolation, identification and community study of root fungal isolates from disturbed and undisturbed arctic and alpine tundra habitats in Northern Quebec, Canada.

The use of root symbionts can enhance the establishment and survival of plant communities on drastically disturbed sites. Here, we are interested in root symbionts associated with plants from the Schefferville mining site in northern Quebec. Very few studies of root fungal communities have been conducted in such a northern environment. The spatial and host plant variation of root fungal isolates was investigated. A total of 456 culturable fungi were isolated, of which 376 were successfully identified and assigned to 106 taxa based on rDNA internal transcribed spacer analysis (ITSF-1 and ITS-4). The most frequently isolated fungi belonged to three genetically related groups: the Rhizoscyphusericae aggregate (REA), the dark septate endophytes and Umbelopsisrammaniana and Mortierella sp., which are known to be genetically very close and often misclassified. These groups were present on both disturbed and natural sites, but it appears that plants from disturbed sites had a greater affinity for dark septate endophytes. This study is the first step in the development of a restoration plan for the Schefferville mining site.