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An Experiment To Test For Rapid Evolution In An Introduced Ectomycorrhizal Symbiosis, Valerie Rewa

Honors Theses

The rapid evolution of introduced ectomycorrhizal-plant partnerships is an under- explored topic that may have immense impacts on ecosystems around the world. This experiment sought to identify and quantify this evolution and its impacts on both fungal colonization as well as plant growth. I used a laboratory experiment to analyze these factors in native and exotic genotypes of Suillus cothurnatus and Pinus species. Much of the data was not able to be collected, but that which was did not support the presence of rapid evolution in the mutualistic partnership. Pine species was seen to have a significant effect on plant …