Mycoheterotrophy has independently evolved in several lineages, being reported in 10 angiosperm families and approximately 515 species. In presenting an unconventional way of life, mycoheterotrophic plants have been arousing botanical curiosity for many years. Mycoheterotrophy is the parasitic relationship between plants and fungi in which the plants depend on the interaction with fungi to fulfill part of their nutritional needs. Altogether, our findings provide important novel information about the mechanisms shaping ecology and evolution of fragmented populations of mycoheterotrophic plant. schenckii is autogamous, which may explain the low genetic diversity and high genetic structure in populations. These fungal hyphae seem to play different roles inside fruit tissues, such as acting in the fruit maturation process and increasing the proximity between fungi and plant seeds even before dispersion occurs. We discuss an interesting interaction: fungal hyphae in the indehiscent fruit. Beyond assuring the presence of fungus that promote seed germination, specific fungi hyphae in the fruit may affect other process, such as fruit ripening. The presence of endophytic fungal hyphae was observed just within floral stems and indehiscent fruit. ResultsÄuring the development of the pollen grain, embryo sac and embryogenesis, no fungal infestation was observed. In this study we performed anatomical and ultrastructural analyses of the reproductive organs, field tests to confirm the breeding system, and molecular analysis to assess genetic diversity and structure of populations. We aimed to verify the presence of endophytic and epiphytic fungi at each stage of the reproductive process and investigated how the breeding system may relate to genetic structure and diversity of populations. is a mycoheterotrophic orchid that can be used as a model to understand the influence of mycoheterotrophy at different stages of the reproductive cycle.
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