Habitat fragmentation strongly restricts gene flow in endangered
ectomycorrhizal fungal populations: evidence from Rhizopogon
togasawarius, specific to Pseudotsuga japonica, across the
entire distribution range
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation reduces gene flow, causing genetic differentiation
and diversity loss in endangered species through genetic drift and
inbreeding. However, the impact of habitat fragmentation on
ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi remains unexplored, despite their critical
roles in forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated the population genetic
structure and the demographic history of Rhizopogon togasawarius,
the ECM fungus specifically colonizing the host tree Pseudotsuga
japonica, across its entire distribution range (>200 km).
These two species are designated as endangered species on the IUCN Red
List since they are found only in small, fragmented forests in Japan. We
analyzed 236 R. togasawarius individuals from five remaining
populations across the Kii Peninsula and the Shikoku Island, separated
by a sea channel. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) analyses using 20 loci
revealed strong genetic differentiation among populations
(FST = 0.255), even significant in the nearest
population pair separated by a distance of only 8 km
(FST = 0.075), indicating extremely limited gene
flow between populations. DIYABC-RF analyses implied that population
divergence occurred approximately 6000 generations ago between the two
regions, and nearly 1500 generations ago between the nearest populations
within Shikoku Island, related to past climate events. Because of
prolonged genetic isolation, significant inbreeding was confirmed in
four of five populations, where effective population sizes became very
small (Ne = 9.0–58.0). Although evaluation of extinction risks
for microorganisms is challenging, our conservation genetic results
indicated that habitat fragmentation increases extinction risk through
population genetic mechanisms, and therefore should not be overlooked in
biodiversity conservation efforts.