Abstract:The grass Ammophila breviligulata (American beachgrass) is known to host an endophyte of the genus Epichloë. Based on morphological characteristics it was originally identified as Acremonium typhinum var. ammophilae and is currently designated as Epichloë typhina var. ammophilae. However, the Epichloë species has not previously been identified based on DNA sequence data. Based on phylogenetic placement of beta-tubulin and translation elongation factor 1-alpha DNA sequences the endophyte is identified as a memb… Show more
“…Phyllosphere fungi, which occupy leaves superficially or intracellularly without causing visible symptoms, are important factors affecting plant health and ecosystem function ( Drake, White Jr & Belanger, 2018 ; Gomes et al, 2018 ; Jumpponen & Jones, 2009 ). For example, Phyllosphere fungi can protect host plants from pathogen damage ( Arnold et al, 2003 ; Mejia et al, 2008 ), enhance tolerances against herbivores ( Albrectsen et al, 2010 ; Estrada, Wcislo & Van Bael, 2013 ; Hartley & Gange, 2009 ), and play an essential role in the initial decomposition of leaves following senescence ( Guerreiro et al, 2018 ; Kembel & Mueller, 2014 ; Voriskova & Baldrian, 2013 ).…”
The altitudinal effects on the distributions of phyllosphere fungal assemblages in conspecific plants remain poorly elucidated. To address this, phyllosphere fungal communities associated with Mussaenda shikokiana were investigated at four sites across a 350 m elevation gradient in a subtropical forest by employing Illumina metabarcoding of the fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Our results demonstrated that phyllosphere fungal assemblages with a single host possessed high taxonomic diversity and multiple trophic guilds. OTU richness was significantly influenced by elevation. The elevation gradient also entailed distinct shifts in the community composition of phyllosphere fungi, which was significantly related to geographical distance and mean annual temperature (MAT). Additionally, comparison of phyllosphere fungal networks showed reduced connectivity with increasing elevation. Our data provide insights on the distribution and interactions of the phyllosphere fungal community associated with a single host along a short elevation gradient.
“…Phyllosphere fungi, which occupy leaves superficially or intracellularly without causing visible symptoms, are important factors affecting plant health and ecosystem function ( Drake, White Jr & Belanger, 2018 ; Gomes et al, 2018 ; Jumpponen & Jones, 2009 ). For example, Phyllosphere fungi can protect host plants from pathogen damage ( Arnold et al, 2003 ; Mejia et al, 2008 ), enhance tolerances against herbivores ( Albrectsen et al, 2010 ; Estrada, Wcislo & Van Bael, 2013 ; Hartley & Gange, 2009 ), and play an essential role in the initial decomposition of leaves following senescence ( Guerreiro et al, 2018 ; Kembel & Mueller, 2014 ; Voriskova & Baldrian, 2013 ).…”
The altitudinal effects on the distributions of phyllosphere fungal assemblages in conspecific plants remain poorly elucidated. To address this, phyllosphere fungal communities associated with Mussaenda shikokiana were investigated at four sites across a 350 m elevation gradient in a subtropical forest by employing Illumina metabarcoding of the fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Our results demonstrated that phyllosphere fungal assemblages with a single host possessed high taxonomic diversity and multiple trophic guilds. OTU richness was significantly influenced by elevation. The elevation gradient also entailed distinct shifts in the community composition of phyllosphere fungi, which was significantly related to geographical distance and mean annual temperature (MAT). Additionally, comparison of phyllosphere fungal networks showed reduced connectivity with increasing elevation. Our data provide insights on the distribution and interactions of the phyllosphere fungal community associated with a single host along a short elevation gradient.
“…Clavicipitaceous endophytes have applied potential as biocontrol agents against insect pests of grasses, hence exploiting these naturally occurring symbioses, isolating their mycobiota to use and develope their natural products as biocides may prevent the requirement for chemical pesticides in managed grasslands [ 40 , 41 ]. The clavicipitaceous fungi of concern within the Clavicipitaceae owned by a relatively small class of species have common characteristics in being endophytically connected with grasses as obligate biotrophic symbionts [ 42 , 43 ]. Figure 1 Marine pharmaceuticals their sources and chemical classes.…”
The growing threat arises due to diseases such as cancer and the infections around the world leading to a critical requirement for novel and constructive compounds with unique ways of action capable of combating these deadly diseases. At present, it is evident that endophytic fungi constitute an enormous as well as comparatively untapped source of great biodiversity that can be considered as a wellspring of effective novel natural products for medical, agricultural and industrial use. Marine endophytic fungi have been found in every marine plants (algae, seagrass, driftwood, mangrove plants), marine vertebrates (mainly, fish) or marine invertebrates (mainly, sponge and coral) inter- and intra-cellular without causing any palpable symptoms of illness. Since evolution of microbes and eukaryotes to a higher level, coevolution has resulted in specific interaction mechanisms. Endophytic fungi are known to influence the life cycle and are necessary for the homeostasis of their eukaryotic hosts and the chemical signals of their host have been shown to activate gene expression in endophytes to induce expression of endophytic secondary metabolites. Marine endophytic fungi are receiving increasing attention by chemists because of their varied and structurally unmatched compounds that have strong biological roles in life as lead pharmaceutical compounds, including anticancer, antiviral, insulin mimetic, antineurodegenerative, antimicrobial, antioxidant and immuno-suppressant compounds. Moreover, fungal endophytes proved to have different biological activities for exploitation in the environmental and agricultural sustainability.
“…Of particular importance to the native dune plant communities is the response of the early-successional, perennial grass A. breviligulata, an ecosystem engineer that builds dunes, stabilizes sand, and facilitates colonization of later-successional species (Lichter, 2000). Ammophila breviligulata associates with the fungal endophyte E. amarillans (Clavicipitaceae) in its aboveground tissues (Drake et al, 2018), and the fungus is vertically transmitted to offspring through seeds or transmitted to new grass tillers via rhizomes (Emery et al 2010). Incidence of Epichloë in wild A. breviligulata populations varies across the Great Lakes region (Emery et al, 2014).…”
Understanding how global change alters the associations between hosts and their microbial symbionts may be critical to predicting future changes in host population dynamics and microbial diversity (Kivlin et al., 2013; Classen et al., 2015; van der Putten et al., 2016). Microbial symbionts, which we broadly define as host-associating microorganisms (de Bary, 1879; as translated by Oulhen et al., 2016), associate with all known plant lineages (Arnold, 2007) and can provide direct benefits to their hosts such as disease prevention, protection against herbivores and drought, or increased nutrient uptake (e.g., O'Hanlon et al., 2012; Worchel et al., 2013; Bourguignon et al., 2015). These benefits may prove crucial under anthropogenic changes that include increases in disease prevalence, drought, and resource limitation. In this study, we investigated how altered precipitation, an important global change factor, influence communities of microbial symbionts (hereafter, symbionts) in plant hosts and asked how these drivers interact with symbionts to affect host performance. Symbiont taxa, like their host organisms, respond to global change factors, but not all symbionts respond alike. In particular, different factors may elicit distinct responses of Epichloë, a common aboveground fungal endophyte of C 3 grasses that is usually vertically transmitted (adult to offspring) and systemic, versus nonepichloid endophytes that are typically horizontally transmitted (individual to individual) and localized (Rodriguez et al., 2009). For example, global change factors such as altered precipitation can alter the environmental conditions necessary for particular
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