Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Their Applications

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi form association with relatively small number of plants that dominate boreal, temperate, Mediterranean, and some subtropical forest ecosystems. These plant species have been able to acquire metabolic capabilities through symbioses with ECM fungi, thus improving their mineral nutrition and growth in several ecological niches. Mycorrhizal fungi can also play several other important ecological roles, including the protection of plants from abiotic and biotic stresses. Several "targeted" metagenomic projects have been carried out, or are now in progress, in order to identify the fungal communities in soil, including ECM fungi, which are present in various habitats (e.g., forest and truffl eground soils, etc.). ECM fungi, which are important both because of their economic value as edible fungi (i.e., truffl es, boletes) and because of their application in reforestation projects, are the subject of this chapter, in which the recent advances in ECM fungal communities are reviewed, focusing mainly on the applicative aspects related to the use of these fungi.