Morphologic and genetic characterization of the ectomycorrhizal fungi associatedto to Pinus hartwegii forests from Cofre de Perote National Park, Veracruz

High land ecosystems ectomycorrhizal fungal communities have been scarcely studied in Mexico. In this work, we characterized morphologically and genetically the ectomycorrhizae associated to a Pinus hartwegii forest in the Cofre de Perote National Park, Veracruz. The study took place in 3 sampling sites; at each site, we established 4 transects of 500 m. Every 100 m we collected 3 soil samples. Fungal DNA was extracted from the ectomycorrhizae, and the ITS region amplified and sequenced. The taxonomic identity of the fungi was obtained by the nucleotide similarity to the sequences deposited in GenBank. We described 14 morphotypes, among these are: Piloderma olivaceum, Cortinarius diasemospermus, C. mucosus, Hydnellum concrescens, Russula aff. betularum, Sebacina vermifera, Sistotrema confluens and the genera Byssocorticium, and Pseudotomentella. These ectomycorrhizal fungi have high potential in reforestation plans, with possible benefits on seedling survival due to the fact that they are ecologically adapted to the local environmental conditions. (C) 2017 Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Biologia.