scholarly journals Clohesyomyces symbioticus sp. nov., a fungal endophyte associated with roots of water smartweed (Persicaria amphibia)

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-210
Author(s):  
A. Elizabeth Arnold ◽  
Dustin Sandberg
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Plant ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Living Plant ◽  
Terrestrial Environments ◽  
Lentic Waters

The widespread aquatic plant Persicaria amphibia (water smartweed, Polygonaceae) occurs in both flooded aquatic habitats and moist terrestrial environments. Its physiological versatility and wide geographic range highlight its resilience to stress and make the species intriguing for the study of fungal endophytes. Endophytes occur within living plant tissues and are known from diverse aquatic, marine, and terrestrial plants, where they often mitigate plant responses to stress. As part of a study evaluating endophyte communities associated with aquatic plants in lentic waters of Arizona, USA, we isolated a distinctive clade of endophytes from healthy, living roots of seasonally inundated P. amphibia, which we describe here on the basis of morphology and evidence from four loci as new species Clohesyomyces symbioticus (Lindgomycetaceae, Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota). Clohesyomyces has long been considered a monotypic genus comprising the saprobic species C. aquaticus, presently known from submerged wood in freshwater systems in Asia and Australia. Description of Clohesyomyces symbioticus highlights the occurrence of endophytism in this genus and expands its geographic scope to the western hemisphere.

scholarly journals The Coevolution of Plants and Microbes Underpins Sustainable Agriculture

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1036
Author(s):  
Dongmei Lyu ◽  
Levini A. Msimbira ◽  
Mahtab Nazari ◽  
Mohammed Antar ◽  
Antoine Pagé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Plant Host ◽  
Symbiotic Relationships ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Terrestrial Environments

Terrestrial plants evolution occurred in the presence of microbes, the phytomicrobiome. The rhizosphere microbial community is the most abundant and diverse subset of the phytomicrobiome and can include both beneficial and parasitic/pathogenic microbes. Prokaryotes of the phytomicrobiome have evolved relationships with plants that range from non-dependent interactions to dependent endosymbionts. The most extreme endosymbiotic examples are the chloroplasts and mitochondria, which have become organelles and integral parts of the plant, leading to some similarity in DNA sequence between plant tissues and cyanobacteria, the prokaryotic symbiont of ancestral plants. Microbes were associated with the precursors of land plants, green algae, and helped algae transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments. In the terrestrial setting the phytomicrobiome contributes to plant growth and development by (1) establishing symbiotic relationships between plant growth-promoting microbes, including rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi, (2) conferring biotic stress resistance by producing antibiotic compounds, and (3) secreting microbe-to-plant signal compounds, such as phytohormones or their analogues, that regulate aspects of plant physiology, including stress resistance. As plants have evolved, they recruited microbes to assist in the adaptation to available growing environments. Microbes serve themselves by promoting plant growth, which in turn provides microbes with nutrition (root exudates, a source of reduced carbon) and a desirable habitat (the rhizosphere or within plant tissues). The outcome of this coevolution is the diverse and metabolically rich microbial community that now exists in the rhizosphere of terrestrial plants. The holobiont, the unit made up of the phytomicrobiome and the plant host, results from this wide range of coevolved relationships. We are just beginning to appreciate the many ways in which this complex and subtle coevolution acts in agricultural systems.

Fungal endophyte assemblages from ethnopharmaceutically important medicinal trees

2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mysore V Tejesvi ◽  
Basavanna Mahesh ◽  
Monnanda S Nalini ◽  
Harishchandra S Prakash ◽  
Kukkundoor R Kini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endophytic Fungi ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Southern India ◽  
Terminalia Arjuna ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Large Reservoir ◽  
Medicinal Tree ◽  
Individual Trees

Endophytic fungi represent an interesting group of microorganisms associated with the healthy tissues of terrestrial plants. They represent a large reservoir of genetic diversity. Fungal endophytes were isolated from the inner bark segments of ethnopharmaceutically important medicinal tree species, namely Terminalia arjuna, Crataeva magna, Azadirachta indica, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Terminalia chebula, and Butea monosperma (11 individual trees), growing in different regions of southern India. Forty-eight fungal species were recovered from 2200 bark segments. Mitosporic fungi represented a major group (61%), with ascomycetes (21%) and sterile mycelia (18%) the next major groups. Species of Fusarium, Pestalotiopsis, Myrothecium, Trichoderma, Verticillium, and Chaetomium were frequently isolated. Exclusive fungal taxa were recovered from five of the six plant species considered for the study of endophytic fungi. Rarefaction indices for species richness indicated the highest expected number of species for bark segments were isolated from T. arjuna and A. indica (20 species each) and from C. magna (18 species).Key words: bark, endophytes, medicinal trees, southern India.

scholarly journals A Technique To Quantify the Population Size and Composition of the Biofilm Component in Communities of Bacteria in the Phyllosphere

1998 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 4789-4795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy E. Morris ◽  
Jean-Michel Monier ◽  
Marie-Agnès Jacques
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Population ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Oligonucleotide Probes ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Living Plant ◽  
Microbial Biofilms ◽  
Broad Leaf

ABSTRACT The presence of microbial biofilms in the phyllosphere of terrestrial plants has recently been demonstrated, but few techniques to study biofilms associated with living plant tissues are available. Here we report a technique to estimate the proportion of the bacterial population on leaves that is assembled in biofilms and to quantitatively isolate bacteria from the biofilm and nonbiofilm (solitary) components of phyllosphere microbial communities. This technique is based on removal of bacteria from leaves by gentle washing, separation of biofilm and solitary bacteria by filtration, and disintegration of biofilms by ultrasonication. The filters used for this technique were evaluated for their nonspecific retention rates of solitary bacteria and for the efficiency of filtration for different concentrations of solitary bacteria in the presence of biofilms and other particles. The lethality and efficiency of disintegration of the sonication conditions used here were also evaluated. Isolation and quantification of bacteria by this technique is based on use of culture media. However, oligonucleotide probes, sera, or epifluorescent stains could also be used for direct characterization of the biofilm and solitary bacteria in the suspensions generated by this technique. Preliminary results from estimates of biofilm abundance in phyllosphere communities show that bacteria in biofilms constitute between about 10 and 40% of the total bacterial population on broad-leaf endive and parsley leaves.

scholarly journals Tree Diversity Reduces Fungal Endophyte Richness and Diversity in a Large-Scale Temperate Forest Experiment

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Griffin ◽  
Joshua G. Harrison ◽  
Melissa K. McCormick ◽  
Karin T. Burghardt ◽  
John D. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Tree Diversity ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
And Function

Although decades of research have typically demonstrated a positive correlation between biodiversity of primary producers and associated trophic levels, the ecological drivers of this association are poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that the plant microbiome, or the fungi and bacteria found on and inside plant hosts, may be cryptic yet important drivers of important processes, including primary production and trophic interactions. Here, using high-throughput sequencing, we characterized foliar fungal community diversity, composition, and function from 15 broadleaved tree species (N = 545) in a recently established, large-scale temperate tree diversity experiment using over 17,000 seedlings. Specifically, we tested whether increases in tree richness and phylogenetic diversity would increase fungal endophyte diversity (the “Diversity Begets Diversity” hypothesis), as well as alter community composition (the “Tree Diversity–Endophyte Community” hypothesis) and function (the “Tree Diversity–Endophyte Function” hypothesis) at different spatial scales. We demonstrated that increasing tree richness and phylogenetic diversity decreased fungal species and functional guild richness and diversity, including pathogens, saprotrophs, and parasites, within the first three years of a forest diversity experiment. These patterns were consistent at the neighborhood and tree plot scale. Our results suggest that fungal endophytes, unlike other trophic levels (e.g., herbivores as well as epiphytic bacteria), respond negatively to increasing plant diversity.

A light and electron microscope study of the fungal endophytes in the sporophyte and gametophyte of Lycopodium cernuum with observations on the gametophyte–sporophyte junction

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Duckett ◽  
Roberto Ligrone
Keyword(s):  
Root Nodules ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Epidermal Cells ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Intercellular Spaces ◽  
Host Cytoplasm ◽  
Fungal Associations

The ventral epidermal cells of the photosynthetic, surface-living gametophytes of Lycopodium cernuum, collected from moist shaded banks in Peninsular Malaysia, contain an aseptate fungus. In some cells the hyphae are thick walled and form coils encapsulated by a thin layer of host wall material. In others the fungus is thin walled and shows limited differentiation into larger trunk hyphae and arbuscules. The adjacent host cytoplasm, separated from the fungus by a granular interfacial matrix, contains numerous chloroplasts, mitochondria, and microtubules. The hyphae contact the substratum via the ventral walls of the epidermal cells and the rhizoids are free from infection. In the protocorm and root nodules, aseptate hyphae initially colonize mucilage-filled schizogenous intercellular spaces. Subsequent invasion of the host cells is associated with the development of massive overgrowths of host wall material. The fungal associations in L. cernuum share a mixture of attributes otherwise found in different angiosperm mycorrhizae and in mycotrophic relationships in liverworts. Wall ingrowths are present in both the gametophyte and sporophyte cells in the placenta of L. cernuum. The very limited development of the placenta, compared with L. appressum, certain bryophytes and ferns, the diminutive size, and early senescence of the gametophytes of L. cernuum are all linked to the presence of the protocorm. This massive absorptive organ, homologous to a foot, in terms of its position in sporophyte ontogeny, but external to the parent gametophyte, derives its nutrition partly from photosynthesis and partly from its fungal endophyte. Key words: chloroplasts, Lycopodium, mycorrhiza, pteridophytes, root nodules, symbiosis, transfer cells.

Revealing the endophytic mycoflora in tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves in Sri Lanka: the first comprehensive study

Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 514 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-260
Author(s):  
KASUN THAMBUGALA ◽  
DINUSHANI DARANAGAMA ◽  
SAGARIKA KANNANGARA ◽  
THENUKA KODITUWAKKU
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Camellia Sinensis ◽  
Endophytic Fungi ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Tea Leaves ◽  
Molecular Sequence Data ◽  
Molecular Sequence ◽  
Rdna Sequence Data

Endophytic fungi are a diverse group of microorganisms that live asymptomatically in healthy tissues of host and they have been reported from all kinds of plant tissues such as leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and fruits. In this study, fungal endophytes associated with tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) were collected from Kandy, Kegalle, and Nuwara Eliya districts in Sri Lanka and were isolated, characterized, and identified. A total of twenty endophytic fungal isolates belonging to five genera were recovered and ITS-rDNA sequence data were used to identify them. All isolated endophytic fungal strains belong to the phylum Ascomycota and the majority of these isolates were identified as Colletotrichum species. Phyllosticta capitalensis was the most commonly found fungal endophyte in tea leaves and was recorded in all three districts where the samples were collected. This is the very first investigation on fungal endophytes associated with C. sinensis in Sri Lanka based on molecular sequence data. In addition, a comprehensive account of known endophytic fungi reported worldwide on Camellia sinensis is provided.

The current state of mycotoxin biomarker development in humans and animals and the potential for application to plant systems

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Baldwin ◽  
R. Riley ◽  
N. Zitomer ◽  
K. Voss ◽  
R. Coulombe Jr. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Risk ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Living Plant ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Mechanisms Of Toxicity ◽  
Livestock Feeds ◽  
Commercially Important

Filamentous fungi that contaminate livestock feeds and human food supply often produce toxigenic secondary metabolites known as mycotoxins. Among the hundreds of known mycotoxins, aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, ochratoxin A and zearalenone are considered the most commercially important. Intense research on these mycotoxins, especially aflatoxin, has resulted in the development of 'biomarkers' used to link exposure to disease risk. In the case of aflatoxin this effort has led to the discovery of both exposure and mechanism-based biomarkers, which have proven essential for understanding aflatoxin's potential for causing disease in humans, including subtle effects on growth and immune response. Fumonisin biomarkers have also been used extensively in farm and laboratory animals to study the fumonisin-induced disruption of cellular and systemic physiology which leads to disease. This review summarises the status of mycotoxin biomarker development in humans and animals for the commercially important mycotoxins. Since the fungi responsible for the production of these mycotoxins are often endophytes that infect and colonise living plant tissues, accumulation of mycotoxins in the plant tissues may at times be associated with development of plant disease symptoms. The presence of mycotoxins, even in the absence of disease symptoms, may still have subtle biological effects on the physiology of plants. This review examines the question of whether or not the knowledge gained from mechanistic studies and development of biomarkers in animal and human systems is transferable to the study of mycotoxin effects on plant systems. Thus far, fumonisin has proven amenable to development of mechanism-based biomarkers to study maize seedling disease caused by the fumonisin producer, Fusarium verticillioides. Expanding our knowledge of mechanisms of toxicity and the overt and subtle effects on animal, human, and plant systems through the identification and validation of biomarkers will further our ability to monitor and limit the damage and economic impact of mycotoxins.

Engineered silver nanoparticles in terrestrial environments: a meta-analysis shows that the overall environmental risk is small

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 2531-2544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Wang ◽  
Enzo Lombi ◽  
Neal W. Menzies ◽  
Fang-Jie Zhao ◽  
Peter M. Kopittke
Keyword(s):  
Silver Nanoparticles ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Trophic Transfer ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Terrestrial Environments

The risk of engineered silver nanoparticles to terrestrial plants and fauna (including humans through trophic transfer) is small.

scholarly journals Relationships between Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities and Ecophysiological Traits of CAM and C3 Epiphytic Bromeliads in a Neotropical Rainforest

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Tellez ◽  
Carrie L. Woods ◽  
Stephen Formel ◽  
Sunshine A. Van Bael
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Leaf Water Content ◽  
Leaf Toughness ◽  
Vascular Epiphytes ◽  
Ecophysiological Traits ◽  
Photosynthetic Pathways ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Epiphytic Bromeliads

Vascular epiphytes contribute up to 35% of the plant diversity and foliar biomass of flowering plants. The family Bromeliaceae is a monophyletic group of plants native to the Neotropics. Epiphytic bromeliads form associations with distinct groups of organisms but their relationship with foliar fungal endophytes remain underexplored. In this study we examined the relationship of foliar fungal endophytes to host photosynthetic pathways and associated ecophysiological traits. We sampled the fungal endophyte communities of 67 host individuals in six epiphytic bromeliad species differing in C3 and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic pathways. We tested whether endophyte assemblages were associated with ecophysiological leaf traits related to host photosynthetic pathways. Our results indicate that (1) C3 and CAM bromeliads host dissimilar endophyte assemblages, (2) endophyte communities in C3 bromeliads are characterized by variable relative abundances of fungal orders; conversely, CAM associated endophyte communities were characterized by consistent relative abundances of fungal orders, and (3) endophyte communities in bromeliads are distributed along a continuum of leaf toughness and leaf water content. Taken together, our study suggests that host physiology and associated ecophysiological traits of epiphytic bromeliads may represent biotic filters for communities of fungal endophytes in the tropics.

Fungal endophytes of Festuca rubra increase in frequency following long-term exclusion of rabbits

Botany ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Santangelo ◽  
Nash E. Turley ◽  
Marc T.J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Fungal Endophyte ◽  
Festuca Rubra ◽  
Red Fescue ◽  
Grass Endophyte ◽  
Defensive Mutualism ◽  
Endophyte Infection

Plant – fungal endophyte interactions are common in nature and they can shape the ecology of plants. Vertically transmitted endophytes are hypothesized to serve as mutualists, protecting plants from herbivores. If this hypothesis is true, then we expect endophytes to be most abundant in the presence of herbivores and least abundant in their absence, assuming endophytes incur a cost to their host. We tested this prediction by studying the effects of intense rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus) grazing on grass–endophyte interactions at Silwood Park, UK. We examined seeds of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) collected from 15 natural populations that were protected from rabbits for 0.3–21 years. Contrary to our prediction, the mean proportion of seeds with endophytes increased 1.84×, from 0.45 to 0.83, following 21 years of rabbit exclusion. To better understand the mechanisms driving this increase in frequency, we conducted a fully factorial greenhouse experiment where we manipulated the presence or absence of endophyte infection, intraspecific competition, and simulated grazing on F. rubra plants. In both damaged and undamaged treatments, infected plants produced approximately twice as much biomass as uninfected plants, and endophytes did not influence tolerance to herbivory. These results suggest that endophytes directly change plant growth but not compensatory responses to damage. In the absence of competitors, infected plants produced 2.17× more biomass than uninfected plants, whereas in the presence of competitors, infected plants produced only 1.55× more biomass than uninfected plants. This difference suggests that intraspecific competition might lessen the benefits of endophyte infection. Our results do not support the defensive mutualism hypothesis, but instead suggest that endophyte-induced plant growth is important in shaping the costs and benefits of endophytes in our system.

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