Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine

This lab conducts ecological research on fungi (molds and mushrooms) that inhabit the roots and leaves of plants. Mycorrhizae, which are bacteria that engage in symbiosis with plants, are essential to the growth of new plants in various ecosystems. In many cases, fungi are thought to wait—in the form of spores or the like—for a new plant to establish itself in the soil. If suitable fungi aren't found in a given place, the plant can't grow there. I investigate the following: the relationships between plants and fungi in coastal, riparian and forest disturbance sites; the forest floors of mature forests; areas of artificial disturbance; and areas of abandoned cultivation. I try to clarify the relationships between plants and bacteria in various ecosystems by detecting the bacteria in soil in order to identify the bacterial species with DNA analysis and by conducting co-cultivation experiments using microbial isolates and aseptic seedlings.

• Interaction between the forest floor herbaceous plants and mycorrhizal fungi connecting roots of trees.
• The role of symbiotic fungi in regeneration of subarctic coniferous forests.
• Role of symbiotic fungi of trees growing in wetlands
• Ecology of the decomposing fungi under snow cover.