- Award ID(s):
- 2031925
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10300620
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Plant and Fungal Systematics
- Volume:
- 66
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2544-7459
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 66-78
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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A growing interest in fungi that occur within symptom-less plants and lichens (endophytes) has uncovered previously uncharacterized species in diverse biomes worldwide. In many temperate and boreal forests, endophytic Coniochaeta (Sacc.) Cooke ( Coniochaetaceae , Coniochaetales, Sordariomycetes , Ascomycota ) are commonly isolated on standard media, but rarely are characterized. We examined 26 isolates of Coniochaeta housed at the Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium. The isolates were collected from healthy photosynthetic tissues of conifers, angiosperms, mosses and lichens in Canada, Sweden and the United States. Their barcode sequences (nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and 5.8S; ITS rDNA) were ≤97% similar to any documented species available through GenBank. Phylogenetic analyses based on two loci (ITS rDNA and translation elongation factor 1-alpha) indicated that two isolates represented Coniochaeta cymbiformispora , broadening the ecological niche and geographic range of a species known previously from burned soil in Japan. The remaining 24 endophytes represented three previously undescribed species that we characterize here: Coniochaeta elegans sp. nov., Coniochaeta montana sp. nov. and Coniochaeta nivea sp. nov. Each has a wide host range, including lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants. C. elegans sp. nov. and C. nivea sp. nov. have wide geographic ranges. C. montana sp. nov. occurs in the Madrean biome of Arizona (USA), where it is sympatric with the other species described here. All three species display protease, chitinase and cellulase activity in vitro . Overall, this study provides insight into the ecological and evolutionary diversity of Coniochaeta and suggests that these strains may be amenable for studies of traits relevant to a horizontally transmitted, symbiotic lifestyle.more » « less
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Abstract Aim The endophyte
Epichloë alsodes , with known insecticidal properties, is found in a majority ofPoa alsodes populations across a latitudinal gradient from North Carolina to New York. A second endophyte,E. schardlii var.pennsylvanica , with known insect‐deterring effects, is limited to a few populations in Pennsylvania. We explored whether such disparate differences in distributions could be explained by selection from biotic and abiotic environmental factors.Location Along the Appalachian Mountains from North Carolina to New York, USA.
Taxon Fungi.
Methods Studied correlations of infection frequencies with abiotic and biotic environmental factors. Checked endophyte vertical transmission rates and effects on overwintering survival. With artificial inoculations for two host populations with two isolates per endophyte species, tested endophyte–host compatibility. Studied effects of isolates on host performances in greenhouse experiment with four water‐nutrients treatments.
Results Correlation analysis revealed positive associations of
E. alsodes frequency with July Max temperatures, July precipitation, and soil nitrogen and phosphorous and negative associations with insect damage and soil magnesium and potassium. Plants infected withE. alsodes had increased overwintering survival compared to plants infected withE. schardlii or uninfected (E−) plants. Artificial inoculations indicated thatE. alsodes had better compatibility with a variety of host genotypes than didE. schardlii . The experiment with reciprocally inoculated plants grown under different treatments revealed a complexity of interactions among hosts, endophyte species, isolate within species, host plant origin, and environmental factors. Neither of the endophyte species increased plant biomass, but some of the isolates within each species had other effects on plant growth such as increased root:shoot ratio, number of tillers, and changes in plant height that might affect host fitness.Main conclusion In the absence of clear and consistent effects of the endophytes on host growth, the differences in endophyte‐mediated protection against herbivores may be the key factor determining distribution differences of the two endophyte species.
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The anaerobic gut fungi (AGF,
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