Is orchid distribution limited by their mycorrhizal associations?

Orchids are obligately dependent on symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, mainly basidiomycetes, which provide carbon and other nutrients necessary for their seedling growth. Beside the mycorrhizal fungi, orchids interact with many presumably endophytic fungi with unknown function in their roots. However, both the orchid mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi have very diverse trophic strategies within habitats, as they could be pathogens, endophytes or mycorrhizal with other plant species, or only saprobes. My PhD generally focuses on influence of distribution of the mycorrhizal fungi on ecology and distribution of the orchids in landscape. Furthermore, the presence of many endophytic fungi in orchid roots allows to study potential interactions via common mycelial networks with surrounding plants within habitats. High-throughput sequencing with metabarcoding could provide a comprehensive environmental context by showing complete fungal species pool in the soil, plant selectivity patterns on the fungal associates and potential mycelial networking among plants, which could have strong impact on a species presence and coexistence.