Mycorrhizal Associations between Helvella bachu and Its Host Plants
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsIt was with special pleasure that I corrected the manuscript, which constitutes another step towards understanding unique ecosystems.
All along the text correct P. alba var. Pyramidalis to P. alba var. pyramidalis (no capital letter) and Helvella aff. Cupuliformis (line 54).
Improve the quality of figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Rewrite subtitles avoiding extensive descriptions and the use of conclusions.
Examples:
Line 186 – “3.2. The ectomycorrhiza was identified as Helvella bachu through the analysis of ITS sequences” = “Ectomycorrhiza identification through the analysis of ITS sequences”
Line 258-259 – “4.1. Mycorrhiza of H. bachu was characterized by a light earth color, a curved, smooth cylindrical shape, presence of a Hartig net and thick mycelial mantle, with a small amount of epitaxy mycelia” = “4.1. Characterization of Helvella bachu mycorrhiza”
Line 277 – “4.2. Sample pretreatment and sectioning techniques are important for morphology observation of mycorrhiza” = “Morphologic observation of mycorrhiza”
Line 295 – “4.3. Host plants of H. bachu were identified as P. euphratica, P. pruinosa, P. nigra, and P. alba var. Pyramidalis” = “Identification of Helvella bachu host plants”
Line 319 – “4.4 Establishment of a conservation area and in situ propagation of H. bachu hold significant economic and ecological importance” = “4.4 Establishment of a conservation area and in situ propagation of H. bachu”
In table 1 location K and L are referred as “Kashgar” but along the text those locations are referred as Kashi (line 74, 150, 196 and 289). Can you standardize the names used?
All along the text the citations referring articles in Chinese (examples 4, 5, 22, 23, 24, 27, 32, 33, 38) are difficult to verify but I can understand there are no alternatively publications in some subjects.
Line 54-55 – In the sentence “Two species of Helvella, Helvella aff. Cupuliformis and H. crispa, were proved to be detected on the root tips [9]” can you add in what plant host.
Line 91-92 – Clarify this sentence “Subsequently, the clean root tips that were enlarged and thickened, shortened were selected…”
Line 128 - Salicacece = Salicaceae
Line 169 - In 2022, the diameter of Populus is from…= In 2022, the diameter of Populus was from…
Line 178 – Add a paragraph at the end of the sentence
Line 221 - …with hartig net… Write Hartig net (always with a capital H)
Line 272 – Couldn’t confirm the citation [22] because I had no access to the complete article.
Line 316 – remove the word “anywhere”
Line 323 - … seems to be a practical strategy.
Line 326 – Others authors also tried …
Line 326-328 – What do the authors (cit. 27) mean by cell density? I couldn't access the article 27.
Line 332 - These successes provide a robust foundation for similar technologies for H. bachu.
Line 335 – verify the link (http://www.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/10268_e.pdf) I couldn’t get access.
Line 415-416 - The title of article 24 must be corrected: Morphological Observation of Synthesized Ectomycorrhizae between Lactarius deliciosus and Three Pinus Species and Molecular Identification of Contaminating Species.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsIn the materials and method section the authors need to describe in detail the sampling proses For example. They need to describe at what soil depth did they find the mycorrhizal roots, how far from the tree trunk. Some additional soil parameters such as soil pH and soil nitrogen are important.
this is important. the readers need to be able to extract conclusions from your research and applied to other similar sites,
Fig 2 The contrast should be improved, perhaps with the use of a darker green color.
Fig 3 The contrasts should be improved. The names at the graph need to be clear to the reader .
Line 207 change the word “mycorrhiza” with the morphological formations.
Line 224: delete the “…for the plant” with symbiosis
Fig 5 the same as in the previous comments regarding the figures
Comments on the Quality of English Languagesome minor corrections outlined at the comments
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
