Laura M Suz

• PhD
• Senior Research Leader in Mycology at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Limiting future warming requires both drastic reductions in carbon emissions, and removal of past emissions from the atmosphere. Socioeconomic and biophysical limits on the efficacy of nature-based carbon dioxide removals (such as reforestation) mean that the natural carbon sequestration capacity of forests should be maximized, wherever reforestati...

Phellodon is a globally distributed genus of stipitate hydnoid fungi recognised by a white spore print and an ectomycorrhizal life strategy. In Europe, many Phellodon species have declining populations and are used as indicators of forests with high conservation values. However, their use in this context and the correct assessment of their extinc...

Societal Impact Statement Biological samples and their associated information are an essential resource used by scientists, governments, policymakers, practitioners and communities to ensure that biodiversity can be appropriately protected and sustainably used. Yet, considering the enormous task of documenting the vast numbers of as‐yet‐unknown pla...

Results of an above- and below-ground fungal survey of Blenheim's High Park, Oxfordshire, UK, a protected site of great significance for its numerous ancient oaks. Chapter 5 in a book edited by A. Farjon. Pages 94–113

Aim: We used two fungal data sources for occurrence records (fruitbodies and roots) to (1) test the influence of data source on estimating the environmental niche of ecto- mycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and (2) compare the differences in estimated niche area and density for ECM fungal species with conspicuous (easily observed, i.e. mushrooms) versus incon...

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Baobabopsis sabindy in leaves of Eragrostis spartinoides, Cortinarius magentiguttatus among deep leaf litter, Laurobasidium azarandamiae from uredinium of Puccinia alyxiae on Alyxia buxifolia, Marasmius pseudoelegans on well-rotted twigs and l...

Aim Ecoregions and the distance decay in community similarity are fundamental concepts in biogeography and conservation biology that are well supported across plants and animals, but not fungi. Here we test the relevance of these concepts for ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi in temperate and boreal regions. Location Europe. Time Period 2008–2015. Maj...

Aim Ecoregions and the distance decay in community similarity are fundamental concepts in biogeography and conservation biology that are well supported across plants and animals, but not fungi. Here we test the relevance of these concepts for ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi in temperate and boreal regions. Location Europe. Time period 2008 – 2015. M...

Atmospheric pollution containing soil‐nitrifying ammonium sulfate ((NH₄)₂SO₄) affects semi‐natural ecosystems worldwide. Long‐term additions of (NH₄)₂SO₄ to nitrogen (N)‐limited habitats, including heathlands, increase climate stress affecting recovery from wildfires. Although heathland vegetation largely depends on ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ErM)...

The European Alps are experiencing more than twice the increase in air temperature observed in the rest of the world. Thus, the treeline ecotone, and the unique habitats above it, offer a preview of drastic changes in plant and animal communities. However, our knowledge about climate change impacts on microbial diversity belowground is scarce. Here...

Gives an overview of an ongoing project working with Mycorrhizas in British soils

What grows where? Knowledge about where to find particular species in nature must have been key to the survival of humans throughout our evolution. Over time, and as people colonised new land masses and habitats, interactions with the local biota led to a wealth of combined traditional and scientific wisdom about the distributions of species and th...

Fungi comprise approximately 20% of all eukaryotic species and are connected to virtually all life forms on Earth. Yet, their diversity remains contentious, their distribution elusive, and their conservation neglected. We aim to flip this situation by synthesizing current knowledge. We present a revised estimate of 2–3 million fungal species with a...

Madagascar is known for its high diversity and endemism of fauna and flora. Fungi, however, have been largely overlooked in diversity and evolution studies on the island, and whether fungi exhibit the same patterns as animals and plants has yet to be further examined. We collected fungal sporocarps and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) roots during three oppor...

Atmospheric pollution containing soil-nitrifying ammonium sulphate is affecting semi- natural ecosystems worldwide. Long-term additions of ammonium sulphate on nitrogen (N)-limited habitats such as heathlands increase climate stress affecting recovery from wildfires. Yet although heathland vegetation largely depends on ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (Er...

Guiding Principles for Investing in Nature Here are ten steps to consider, when it comes to investing in nature to reach net zero. 1. Take a holistic approach – consider the whole ecosystem for nature and people 2. Create multiple positive impacts – avoid negative impacts 3. Plan for the long term 4. Build in climate resilience and adaptation, fro...

Only two Coccoloba-associated xerocomoid boletes with smooth basidiospores are currently known from the Dominican Republic, namely Boletus ruborculus and Xerocomus coccolobae. A multilocus phylogenetic analysis of four gene markers (ITS, LSU, RPB2, TEF1) reveals that B. ruborculus forms an autonomous clade in the Boletaceae corresponding to a novel...

Globally, forests are impacted by atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, affecting their structure and functioning above and below ground. All trees form mutualistic root symbioses with mycorrhizal fungi. Of the two kinds of mycorrhizal symbioses of trees, the ectomycorrhizal (EcM) symbiosis is much more sensitive to N enrichment than the arbuscular...

The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) could potentially be used as a host for the Périgord truffle (Tuber melanosporum) in multi-cropping plantations to promote rural or marginalized economies by providing farmers with a valuable source of income from both the truffle and the chestnut. Black truffles are known to associate to sweet chestnut trees in...

Fine root endophyte mycorrhizal fungi in the Endogonales (Mucoromycota arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, M‐AMF) are now recognized as at least as important globally as Glomeromycota AMF (G‐AMF), yet little is known about the environmental factors which influence M‐AMF diversity and colonization, partly because they typically only co‐colonize plants wit...

Madagascar is known for its high diversity and endemism of Fauna and Flora, which makes it particularly interesting for research on diversity and evolution. Fungi, however, have been largely overlooked, and whether fungi exhibit the same patterns as animals and plants has yet to be further examined. We collected fungal sporocarps and ectomycorrhiza...

Most trees form symbioses with ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) which influence access to growth-limiting soil resources. Mesocosm experiments repeatedly show that EMF species differentially affect plant development, yet whether these effects ripple up to influence the growth of entire forests remains unknown. Here we tested the effects of EMF compositi...

The resilience of forests is compromised by human‐induced environmental influences pushing them towards tipping points and resulting in major shifts in ecosystem state that might be difficult to reverse, are difficult to predict and manage, and can have vast ecological, economic and social consequences. The literature on tipping points has grown ra...

Four new Hydnellum species are described. Hydnellum roseoviolaceum sp. nov. grows in dry pine heaths on acidic, sandy soil. It is close to H. fuligineoviolaceum , another pine-associated species, but differs by smaller spores, an initially rose-coloured instead of violet flesh in fresh basidiomata and a mild taste. Hydnellum scabrosellum sp. nov. g...

Truffles are highly demanded edible fungi. They belong to the genus Tuber and have very high economic value, with Tuber magnatum being one of the most expensive and gastronomically used. This study evaluates the potential of five introduce tree species as mycorrhizal hosts for T. magnatum in Chile. Seeds from Quercus cerris, Q. robur and Corylus av...

Alpine habitats are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to environmental change, however, little information is known about the drivers of plant–fungal interactions in these ecosystems and their resilience to climate change. We investigated the influence of the main drivers of ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal communities along elevation and environmen...

Never before has the biosphere, the thin layer of life we call home, been under such intensive and urgent threat. Deforestation rates have soared as we have cleared land to feed ever-more people, global emissions are disrupting the climate system, new pathogens threaten our crops and our health, illegal trade has eradicated entire plant populations...

1. Trees are a foundation for biodiversity in urban ecosystems and therefore must be able to withstand global change and biological challenges over decades and even centuries to prevent urban ecosystems from deteriorating. Tree quality and diversity should be prioritised over simply numbers to optimise resilience to these challenges. Successful est...

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important inte...

The relatively poor simulation of the below-ground processes is a severe drawback for many ecosystem models, especially when predicting responses to climate change and management. For a meaningful estimation of ecosystem production and the cycling of water, energy, nutrients and carbon, the integration of soil processes and the exchanges at the sur...

Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi are essential for the establishment of woody perennial plants in the European Alps. From continental to local scales, environmental conditions and plant host characteristics can predict EcM community structure and composition. However, it is unclear whether EcM communities of congeneric host species and their hybrids are...

Concerted evolution of the ribosomal DNA array has been studied in numerous eukaryotic taxa, yet is still poorly understood. rDNA genes are repeated dozens to hundreds of times in the eukaryotic genome (Eickbush and Eickbush 2007) and it is believed that these arrays are homogenized through concerted evolution (Zimmer et al., 1980, Dover, 1993) pre...

An account of British species and taxa of Otidea is presented based on morphology and molecular data obtained from the fungarium collections, at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K) and elsewhere. Based on a phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of the fungal nuclear rDNA, sixteen named and three unnamed taxa are rec...

The internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the rDNA cistron are the most commonly used DNA barcoding region in Fungi. rDNA genes are repeated dozens to hundreds of times in the eukaryotic genome and it is believed that these arrays are homogenized through concerted evolution preventing the accumulation of intragenomic, and intraspecific, variation....

Environmental drivers of alpine ectomycorrhizal fungal communities.

In autumn 2016, symptoms of cobweb disease were observed on cultivated Pleurotus ostreatus crops in Spain. Based on morphological and genetic analyses, the causal agent of cobweb was identified as Cladobotryum mycophilum. Two cropping trials, inoculated with C. mycophilum, were set up to evaluate the pathogenicity of this causal agent of cobweb. Tw...

Biodiversity of ecosystems is an important driver for the supply of ecosystem services to people. Soils often have a larger biodiversity per unit surface area than what can be observed aboveground. Here, we present what is to our knowledge the most extensive literature-based key-word assessment of the existing information about the relationships be...

Throughout their existence on Earth, fungi and plants have been intricately linked, and their interactions span a vast continuum from detrimental to beneficial. Although negative interactions have received more attention, due in part to their impacts on crops, forests and horticulturally important plants, positive plant–fungal interactions are not...

https://stateoftheworldsfungi.org/2018/reports/SOTWFungi_2018_Climate_Change.pdf

In autumn 2016, symptoms of cobweb disease were observed on cultivated Pleurotus ostreatus crops in Spain. Based on morphological and genetic analyses, the causal agent of cobweb was identified as Cladobotryum mycophilum. Two cropping trials, inoculated with C. mycophilum, were set up to evaluate the pathogenicity of this causal agent of cobweb. Tw...

Although negative interactions have received more attention, due in part to their impacts on crops, forests and horticulturally important plants, positive plant–fungal interactions are not only ubiquitous but also vitally important to sustaining life on this planet. In this chapter, we highlight what is currently known about the beneficial interact...

Alpine ectomycorrhizal fungi, Environmental Drivers, European Alps

In the HTML version of this Article, author 'Filipa Cox' had no affiliation in the author list, although she was correctly associated with affiliation 3 (Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK) in the PDF. In addition, the blue circles for 'oak' were missing from Extended Data Fig. 1. These errors have been correct...

Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound with clinical applications produced by dozens of mushroom species. There has been a longstanding interest in psilocybin research with regard to treatment for addiction, depression, and end-of-life suffering. However, until recently very little was known about psilocybin biosynthesis and its ecological role. Her...

Almost all orchid species depend on association with fungal partners. These fungal species facilitate orchid seed germination and promote growth and possibly stress tolerance in adult plants, both in the field and laboratory conditions. Codonorchis lessonii is a terrestrial orchid, endemic to southern Chile and Argentina with a currently unknown co...

Explaining the large-scale diversity of soil organisms that drive biogeochemical processes-and their responses to environmental change-is critical. However, identifying consistent drivers of belowground diversity and abundance for some soil organisms at large spatial scales remains problematic. Here we investigate a major guild, the ectomycorrhizal...

The plantation and management of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) orchards is a common and traditional land use system in many areas of Europe that offers the advantage of simultaneous production of nuts and timber. During the last decades, sweet chestnut has declined dramatically in many regions because of the profound social changes in rura...

Mycorrhizal fungi associated with Codonorchis lessonii (Brongn.) Lindl., a terrestrial orchid from Chile Hongos micorrícicos asociados a Codonorchis lessonii (Brongn.) Lindl., una orquídea terrestre de Chile ABSTRACT Almost all orchid species depend on association with fungal partners. These fungal species facilitate orchid seed germination and pro...

Mycorrhizal fungi associated with Codonorchis lessonii (Brongn.) Lindl., a terrestrial orchid from Chile Hongos micorrícicos asociados a Codonorchis lessonii (Brongn.) Lindl., una orquídea terrestre de Chile ABSTRACT Almost all orchid species depend on association with fungal partners. These fungal species facilitate orchid seed germination and pro...

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is frequently planted as a monoculture, but it is also grown in mixed plantations with other native trees such as pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). Both pine and oak form ectomycorrhizas that cover their roots and extend into the soil, facilitating tree water and nutrient uptake in exchange for photosynthetic carbon. Fo...

Historical datasets of living communities are important because they can be used to document creeping shifts in species compositions. Such a historical data set exists for alpine fungi. From 1941 to 1953, the Swiss geologist Jules Favre visited yearly the region of the Swiss National Park and recorded the occurring fruiting bodies of fungi >1 mm (s...

Since the nineteenth century, Myriostoma has been regarded as a monotypic genus with a widespread distribution in north temperate and subtropical regions. However, on the basis of morphological characters and phylogenetic evidence of DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the large subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (LSU...

In 2010, symptoms of cobweb disease were observed on cultivated Pleurotus eryngii crops in Spain. Based on morphological and genetic analyses, the causal agent of cobweb was identified as Cladobotryum mycophilum. Pathogenicity tests on fruit bodies were performed using conidial suspensions of three C. mycophilum isolates. The causal agent was re-is...

Pine forests in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) have been under extreme threat of disappearing since the non-native, invasive and pine-specific pine tortoise scale insect (Toumeyella parvicornis) was accidentally introduced to the islands over a decade ago. This invasive species has killed the vast majority of the Vulnerable and endemic Caicos p...

Conservation assessments based on national database records, fruit body morphology and DNA barcoding with comments on the 2015 assessments of Bailey et al. Justin H. Smith†, Laura M. Suz* & A. Martyn Ainsworth*

The scientific basis to underpin the final restoration strategy and protocols for the Darwin Plus project “Caicos pine forests: mitigation for climate change and invasive species” is described here. This work, which was carried out from April 2014 to March 2016, included fieldwork in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and processing of samples and...

The National Tree of TCI, Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Griseb.) W.H.Barrett & Golfari is at risk of extirpation due to the invasive pine tortoise scale insect, Toumeyella parvicornis Cockerell (Hamilton, 2007; Malumphy et al., 2012). As such, the variety has been assessed and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (Sanchez et al., 2013). To a...

The scientific basis to underpin the final restoration strategy and protocols for the Darwin Plus project “Caicos pine forests: mitigation for climate change and invasive species” is described here. This work, which was carried out from April 2014 to March 2016, included fieldwork in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and processing of samples and...

Setting aside overmature planted forests is currently seen as an option for preserving species associated with old-growth forests, such as those with dispersal limitation. Few data exist, however, on the utility of set-aside plantations for this purpose, or the value of this habitat type for biodiversity relative to old-growth semi-natural ecosyste...

Supplementary material.

Chloraea cuneata es una orquídea endémica de Chile en Peligro Crítico de Extinción. Se aislaron e identificaron hongos orquidioides a partir de pelotones ubicados en células corticales de sus raíces pertenecientes al género-forma Rhizoctonia, teleomorfo Thanatephorus (multinucleado), los que podrían ser usados en iniciativas de conservación.

The Caicos pine Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis is endemic to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and the Bahamas, where it is the dominant species in the pine forest ecosystem. Pine forests in TCI cover only 13km2 and have been under severe threat of extinction in the past decade. A severe infestation by the non-native and pine-specific pine tortois...

Chloraea cuneata es una orquídea endémica de Chile en Peligro Crítico de Extinción. Se aislaron e identificaron hongos orquidioides a partir de pelotones ubicados en células corticales de sus raíces pertenecientes al género-forma Rhizoctonia, teleomorfo Thanatephorus (multinucleado), los que podrían ser usados en iniciativas de conservación.

The enormity of the breadth and depth of specimens held within the world's biological collections offers unparalleled opportunities to capture genomic data from across the entire range of known biological diversity. Such a task would take many lifetimes to complete if we could rely only on fresh samples. High-throughput sequencing provides a techni...

New To Britain - Collection, morphological identification and DNA sequencing of spring taxa Cortinarius nolaneiformis, belonging to subgenus Telemonia, in section Colymbadini.

The ICP Forests network can be a platform for large-scale mycorrhizal studies. Mapping and monitoring of mycorrhizas have untapped potential to inform science, management, conservation and policy regarding distributions, diversity hotspots, dominance and rarity, and indicators of forest changes. A dearth of information about fungi at large scales...

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are major ecological players in temperate forests but they are rarely used in measures of forest condition because large-scale, high-resolution, standardized and replicated belowground data is scarce. We carried out an analysis of ectomycorrhizas at 22 intensively-monitored long-term oak plots, across nine European countries,...

Accurate diagnosis of the components of our food and a standard lexicon for clear communication is essential for regulating global food trade and identifying food frauds. Reliable identification of wild collected foods can be particularly difficult, especially when they originate in under-documented regions or belong to poorly known groups such as...

Sebacinales are a large, potentially useful and ecologically diverse order of fungi that requires in-depth DNA sequencing for barcoding and phylogenetics, along with accurate morphological data. For identification using sequences it is essential to have data from well classified and studied reference collections so that genotype and phenotype can b...

Accurate diagnosis of the components of our food and a standard lexicon for clear communication is essential for regulating global food trade and identifying food frauds. Reliable identification of wild collected foods can be particularly difficult, especially when they originate in under-documented regions or belong to poorly known groups such as...

Accurate diagnosis of the components of our food and a standard lexicon for clear communication is essential for regulating global food trade and identifying food frauds. Reliable identification of wild collected foods can be particularly difficult, especially when they originate in under-documented regions or belong to poorly known groups such as...

Accurate diagnosis of the components of our food and a standard lexicon for clear communication is essential for regulating global food trade and identifying food frauds. Reliable identification of wild collected foods can be particularly difficult, especially when they originate in under-documented regions or belong to poorly known groups such as...

Sebacinales are a large, potentially useful and ecologically diverse order of fungi that requires in-depth DNA sequencing for barcoding and phylogenetics, along with accurate morphological data. For identification using sequences it is essential to have data from well classified and studied reference collections so that genotype and phenotype can b...

Orchids are obligate mycoheterotrophic plants, relying on fungal nutrient resources to grow for their entire life or until they develop into photosynthetic seedlings. In Chile, orchids are represented by 7 genera and 63 species, 27 of which are endemic. Some Chilean species are considered endangered or rare, but many are insufficiently known. This...

Poster

A phylogenetic analysis of Iberian Terfezia collections indicates eight clades, of which three correspond with previously described species (T. alsheikhii, T. fanfani, T. olbiensis) and five are described as new species — T. albida, T. eliocrocae, T. extremadurensis, T. pini, and T. pseudoleptoderma. These results are supported by the morphology of...

The high cost and restricted availability of black truffle spore inoculum for controlled mycorrhiza formation of host trees produced for truffle orchards worldwide encourage the search for more efficient and sustainable inoculation methods that can be applied globally. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the nurse plant method for the cont...

Between 2008 and 2011, symptoms of cobweb were observed in commercial white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) crops in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). Typical symptoms started as white, cobweb-like mycelial growth over the surface of the casing soils and fruiting bodies. Later, the mycelium changed to a grayish white, dense powder and the affected fr...

In 2010, symptoms of cobweb were observed on cultivated king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) affecting 16% of the blocks of substrate cultivated. Cobweb appeared at the end of the crop cycle, first as small, white patches on the casing soil, subsequently spreading to the nearest king oyster mushroom by means of a f...

Although successful cultivation of the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) has inspired the establishment of widespread truffle orchards in agricultural lands throughout the world, there are many unknowns involved in proper management of orchards during the 6-10 years prior to truffle production, and there are conflicting results reported for fertil...