Reintroduction of the endangered species Cattleya purpurata (Lindl. & Paxton) Van den Berg and Cattleya intermedia Graham ex Hook in the Atlantic Forest and the role of mycorrhizal fungi in their conservation

• Grant number: 25/01615-6
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Morphology
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Lischka Sampaio Mayer
• Grantee: Juliana Lischka Sampaio Mayer
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Campinas
• Associated researchers: ELiana de Medeiros Oliveira ; Fábio Pinheiro ; Ingrid Koch ; Luciano Ramos Zandoná ; MARIANA OLIVEIRA DUARTE ; Marlon Correa Pereira ; Rafael Borges da Silva Valadares ; Sara Adrian Lopez de Andrade ; Silvia Perotto

Abstract

Cattleya purpurata and Cattleya intermedia are orchid species threatened with extinction due to predatory collecting and the reduction of their natural habitat. In vitro seed germination could be a way to produce seedlings in large quantities for reintroduction into the wild. Native matrices will be selected and manually crossed to maintain genetic variability and act as an in vivo germplasm bank. Mycorrhizal fungi will also be isolated and identified from the roots of adult native plants and stored in the microbiological collection. The aim of this proposal is to develop an efficient protocol for the germination, acclimatisation and reintroduction and conservation of C. purpurata and C. intermedia in protected forest areas in São Paulo, in order to re-establish them in their natural habitat. Seedlings of three to four centimetres will first be acclimatised in a greenhouse and, after six months, they will be reintroduced fixed at a height of 2.0 m in adult phorophytes of the species Myrcia brasiliensis with a diameter at breast height of between 20 and 30 cm. The reintroduction experiment will consist of seedlings produced by symbiotic and asymbiotic germination, with or without the application of fertiliser. Four treatments will be carried out with 240 seedlings per species, giving a total of 480 for the reintroduction experiment. Monitoring will be carried out monthly for the first six months, eight months and 14 months after reintroduction of the seedlings. Survival, quantitative growth and health data will be assessed. Root samples will be collected for anatomical and molecular analyses to verify the presence, location and diversity of mycorrhizal fungi. (AU)