• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.94 no.1 s.158
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• pp.16-20
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• 2005

Tricholoma matsutake ectomycorrhizas are unique in their morphology: not bifurcated broom shaped roots with not easily wettable brilliant and profuse white hyphae. To understand these characteristics the ectomycorrhizas were investigated with electron microscopy. T. matsutake ectomycorrhiza have thin mantle and typical Hartig net development in the epidermis and cortex, but no fungal mantle on the root apex. There were no penetrating hyphae inside of the cells of either epidermis, cortex or stele. Inside of the walls of epidermis and cortex cells are lined with ca. $2{\mu}m$ hemispherical amyloplasts. The brilliant hyphal surface was covered with various fine amorphous granules. The hyphal cell wall was thin membrane less than $0.3{\mu}m$ thick. There is no clamp connection on the hyphae. This thin membraneous cell wall with high elasticity can be related to survival strategy of the species without plasmolysis under frequent soil water stress environment. And the coarse hyphal surface with some water repellency can control sudden inrush of water of the hyphae with an extremely low osmotic potential. It is concluded that no mantle on the tip can induce mycorrhizas not bifurcated and that finely coarse surface of T. matsutake hyphae can make the hyphae brilliantly white but less wetted.