Plant hybridization is common and important in ecological and economic contexts, however little is known about the impact of plant hybridization on ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) communities in natural habitats. We used a Populus hybrid system (P. angustifolia x P. fremontii) in a heterogeneous riparian landscape to address the hypothesis that EMF communities differ among hybrids and their parental species (cross types). Several key results emerged. (1) Cross type influenced EMF composition, with communities on hybrids being distinct from their parents. (2) Cross type influenced the composition of hyphal exploration types important for soil resource foraging, although contact and short distance exploration types were dominant on all cross types. (3) Cross type had a marginal influence on EMF colonization, with P. angustifolia highest and P. fremontii lowest. These results highlight the potential for tree hybridization to structure belowground communities in heterogeneous natural ecosystems.

在生态和经济背景下，植物杂交是常见且重要的，但是，关于植物杂交对自然栖息地的外生菌根真菌（EMF）群落的影响知之甚少。我们使用了胡杨杂交系统（P. angustifolia x P.fremontii）在异质河岸景观中解决假说，即杂种及其亲本物种（交叉类型）之间的EMF群落不同。出现了几个关键结果。（1）交叉类型影响了EMF的组成，杂种上的群落与其父母不同。（2）交叉类型影响对土壤资源觅食很重要的菌丝探索类型的组成，尽管接触和短距离探索类型在所有交叉类型中都占主导地位。（3）杂交类型对EMF定殖的影响很小，其中P. angustifolia最高，而F.monte Fremontii最低。这些结果凸显了树木杂交在异质自然生态系统中构造地下群落的潜力。