Fungal endophytes and epiphytes in needles ofPicea abies(L.) Karst. from natural and urban areas in northern Italy

Abstract

Fungal endophytes and epiphytes in needles of Picea abies (L.) Karst. from natural and urban areas in northern Italy.The foliar fungal endophytes community inhabiting needles of Picea abies (Norway spruce) has not been well documented. In this study, carried out in Northern Italy, needles were collected in the years 2003 -2004 in Bagni di Masino and Passo S. Marco (natural locations) and in Milano and Pavia (urban areas). Needles were plated and scored for hyphal outgrowth of endophytes to observe composition and distribution pattern. Both colonization percentage and number of taxa were higher in needles collected in natural locations. There was a large difference in the infection levels between natural and urban areas, portion of the needle (the distal portion showing the largest number of colonies) and among the different needle age classes, with the youngest needles being virtually endophytes free and the 5 and 6 age classes being the most colonized. Thus Norway spruce foliar endophytes population appears to be influenced by age and portion of the needle and location. In the year 2003 fungal epiphytes were also investigated to compare the two different populations. Results analisys show a different distribution of endophytic and ephyphitic taxa, some species being mostly isolated in the natural locations others in the urban ones, thus indicating the presence of different clusters. Zythiostroma pinastri and Tiarosporella parca were the most frequent endophytes in natural locations while Sphaeropsis sapinea was common in urban areas. Among the epiphytes Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium, and Cladosporium were ubiquitous taxa, Phomopsis was mostly isolated in natural locations.

The mycobiota of needles and shoots of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) with symptoms of Herpotrichia needle browning in the Tatra Mts. (Poland)

“…In the Tatra Mountains, the bottom part of the crown, in every spot, showed symptoms of ongoing needle's disease, which were less and less visible with increasing height. Results stand in agreement with other studies (Maresi et al 2001, Lorenzi et al 2006) which show that Rhizosphaera sp. preferentially appears on the lower portion of the crown.…”

Towards resolvingNothophaeocryptopusandRhizosphaerainhabitants of spruce needles

“…A finding that was peculiar was that no species of Rhizosphaera were isolated from green healthy needles. While some studies agree with our findings (Lorenzi et al, 2006;Müller et al, 2001;Nguyen et al, 2016), this contradicts the observations of other endophyte studies on spruce (Menkis et al, 2015;Müller & Hallaksela, 1998) including that of Magan and Smith (1996) in Wales. Despite sampling in the same area in Wales and carrying out similar isolation techniques, R. kalkhoffii was not encountered occurring endophytically, which casts doubt on the findings of Magan and Smith (1996), who used only culture morphology, but not DNA.…”

Phacidiaceae endophytes ofPicea rubensin Eastern Canada

“…Darkera parca is a common endophyte from asymptomatic Picea needles in both Europe and North America (Sieber 1988;Müller and Hallaksela 1998;Lorenzi et al 2006;Sokolski et al 2007). It is the second most frequently isolated endophyte from Picea abies in Switzerland (Sieber 1988) and P. mariana in Quebec (Canada) (Sokolski et al 2007).…”