WP1

The level of species-to-species fungal specificity through the use of large-scale reciprocal germination experiments; this will be important for evaluating the effect of different fungal strains on orchid germination and development and in identifying suitable fungal strains for the next part of the project. Hypothesis 1: despite many fungal taxa are often found in orchid roots, only few of these taxa may initiate germination, and some of them may not be suitable to ensure subsequent seedling development