Diversity and significance of fungal endophytes from living stems of naturalized trees from Argentina

Abstract

Fungal endophytes inhabit healthy tissues of all terrestrial taxa studied to date; however, fungi associated with woody tissue have been frequently overlooked. Here, we examined endophytes associated with healthy living stems of tree species exotic to Argentina (Broussonetia papyrifera, Celtis occidentalis and Ligustrum lucidum) in a natural reserve. To achieve this objective, fungi were induced to develop within the wood by drying sections of branches. For comparison purposes, a study of the organisms present on superficial and inner bark was carried out. Fifty-seven strains belonging to 12 different taxa, dominated by the anamorphic states of ascomycetes, were obtained from the 180 cultured chips. Coprinellus micaceus, Lecythophora hoffmannii and Rhizopus microsporus are cited for the first time as endophytes. Only two taxa appeared on more than one tree species. Assemblages of fungi obtained from each tree species were different and the fungal endophytes isolated were very different from those previously recorded for leaves of the same hosts in the same area. Thus, it is probable that the endophytes exhibit host-and tissue-specificity. Considering three main factors: 1. the invasive nature of two of the selected hosts, 2. the evaluation of woody tissue and 3. the taxonomic identity of the fungal isolations, hypotheses concerning ecological implications are here discussed. In this sense, Broussonetia papyrifera and Ligustrum lucidum could be considered as sources of potential inoculum for native plants, especially in protected areas, and the high diversity of fungal species living within the tissues of the hosts studied suggests their potential as important fungal reservoirs to be taken into account in conservation issues.

Endophytic fungi harbored in Panax notoginseng : diversity and potential as biological control agents against host plant pathogens of root-rot disease

“…Previous studies in other plants have also indicated that endophytes exhibit tissues specificity [58], [59], [60]. As expected, tissue specificity of fungal endophytes was demonstrated in our study.…”

Grazing Intensity Affects Communities of Culturable Root‐Associated Fungi in a Semiarid Grassland of Northwest China

“…oxysporum , R. solani , and S. terrestris , which occurred in all three plant species. This finding was in agreement with the previous assumption that endophytic communities are usually species‐specific to a host plant (Errasti et al ., ; Li et al ., ). The db‐RDA analysis showed that root fungal communities of L. davurica and S. bungeana from the treatment of 8.7 sheep/ha were distinctly different from that of other three grazing intensities.…”

Diversity and Taxonomy of Endophytic Xylariaceous Fungi from Medicinal Plants of Dendrobium (Orchidaceae)

“…To compared the specificity and distribution of the xylariaceous species in the seven Dendrobium species, the Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H′) and evenness index (E′) were calculated based on the number of OTUs using the following two formulas, respectively: H′ = −Σ(pi ×lnpi) and E′ = H′/lnS (S indicates the total number of species) [58].…”