Tropical plants as chimera: some implications of foliar endophytic fungi for the study of host-plant defence, physiology and genetics

Herre, Edward Allen; Bael, Sunshine A. Van; Maynard, Zuleyka; Robbins, Nancy; Bischoff, Joseph F.; Arnold, A. Elizabeth; Rojas, Enith; Mejía, Luis C.; Cordero, Roberto J.; Woodward, Catherine; Kyllo, Damond A.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511541971.010

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…A high diversity of endophytic fungi has been found in stems, leaves, and pods of T. cacao, and T. gileri Evans et al, 2003;Rubini et al, 2005;Herre et al, 2005;Van Bael et al, 2005;Samuels unpublished). However, what their natural roles are or how they interact with the pathogens of cacao and other host plants is only beginning to be characterized and understood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Studies of endophytic fungi in Theobroma cacao and other dicots reveal substantial differences with the grass endophyte systems (Arnold et al, 2000;Herre et al, 2005Herre et al, , 2007Van Bael et al, 2005). Specifically compared to grass endophytes, the endophytes associated with cacao and other tropical woody plants are highly diverse, horizontally transmitted (acquired from the environment), and show only some degree of host affinity (Herre et al, 1999(Herre et al, , 2007Arnold et al, 2000;Van Bael et al, 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In cacao, leaves and fruits are endophyte-free at emergence and accumulate diverse endophytes from spore rain in the environment. Cacao tissues are heavily colonized in a short period of time (~2-3 weeks) by a group of endophyte species characterized by a few species that are consistently dominant members of the assemblage and a large number of exceedingly rare endophyte species Herre et al, 2005Herre et al, , 2007Van Bael et al, 2005). In T. cacao and Theobroma gileri at least two distinctive assemblages of endophytes can be found, one assemblage in leaves Van Bael et al, 2005) and a second assemblage in trunks (Evans et al, 2003; Samuels unpublished; see also Crozier et al, 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Endophytic fungi as biocontrol agents of Theobroma cacao pathogens

Mejía¹,

Rojas²,

Maynard³

et al. 2008

Biological Control

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392

236

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Endophytic fungi as biocontrol agents of Theobroma cacao pathogens

Mejía¹,

Rojas²,

Maynard³

et al. 2008

Biological Control

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392

236

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“…Overall, there were 384 fungus-plant pairs in the Nursery study and 578 pairs in the Forest study. In situ inoculations mean that the inoculated leaves were already colonized by a large diversity of endophytic fungi (31), so that inoculated strains interacted with the host plants in their natural state of plant-fungus chimeras (32).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic signal in plant pathogen–host range

Gilbert

Webb

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

657

712

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What determines which plant species are susceptible to a given plant pathogen is poorly understood. Experimental inoculations with fungal pathogens of plant leaves in a tropical rain forest show that most fungal pathogens are polyphagous but that most plant species in a local community are resistant to any given pathogen. The likelihood that a pathogen can infect two plant species decreases continuously with phylogenetic distance between the plants, even to ancient evolutionary distances. This phylogenetic signal in host range allows us to predict the likely host range of plant pathogens in a local community, providing an important tool for plant ecology, design of agronomic systems, quarantine regulations in international trade, and risk analysis of biological control agents. In particular, the results suggest that the rate of spread and ecological impacts of a disease through a natural plant community will depend strongly on the phylogenetic structure of the community itself and that current regulatory approaches strongly underestimate the local risks of global movement of plant pathogens or their hosts.fungal pathogen ͉ plant disease ecology ͉ tropical forest ͉ plant quarantine ͉ host specificity M ost species of plant pathogen can attack a broad diversity of plant species (1), but the number of plant species with which a pathogen interacts in a local community is generally much lower (2). However, we have limited abilities to predict which species within a plant assemblage are most likely to be susceptible to a particular pathogen. Existing databases of pathogen-host range (e.g., ref. 1) have limited value for quantitative assessments because they are based primarily on haphazard records of pathogens on economically important plants. More importantly, only plant species that are susceptible to particular pathogens were recorded but not which plants are resistant. Nevertheless, several economically and scientifically important issues require predicting the likely host range of plant pathogens. The idea of selectivity among local plant species underlies the theory for the role of natural enemies in the maintenance of plant diversity (3-5) and biological invasions (6, 7). Host selectivity is used in studying plant disease epidemics (8, 9), estimating fungal biodiversity (10), managing agriculture and forestry systems (11,12), and in risk analysis for global movement of plants and pathogens (13,14).Conventional wisdom is that two closely related plant species should be more likely to be susceptible to the same plant pathogens than would plants that are evolutionarily distant, because the morphological and chemical traits of plants that regulate interactions with pathogens are often phylogenetically conserved (15). Indeed, recent work has shown a strong phylogenetic signal in host range of herbivorous insects in tropical rain forest (16,17), and there is qualitative support for such a signal for fungal pathogens (7). The presumption of phylogenetic signal in host range often underlies important agronomic and econ...

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“…Ecologically relevant roles of tropical foliar endophytic fungi have been demonstrated, such as the physiological costs in terms of water relations and photosynthesis (Pinto et al, 2000;Herre et al, 2005;Arnold and Engelbrecht, 2007) and antipathogen protection of hosts mediated by endophytes (Hanada et al, 2010;Rocha et al, 2011), indicating a defensive mutualism that can be detected by the control of natural herbivores and pathogens in laboratory and greenhouse experiments (Saikkonen and Helander, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of endophytic fungal community associated with Piper hispidum (Piperaceae) leaves

Orlandelli¹,

Alberto²,

Filho³

et al. 2012

Genet. Mol. Res.

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ABSTRACT. Tropical and subtropical plants are rich in endophytic community diversity. Endophytes, mainly fungi and bacteria, inhabit the healthy plant tissues without causing any damage to the hosts. These fungi can be useful for biological control of pathogens and plant growth promotion. Some plants of the genus Piper are hosts of endophytic microorganisms; however, there is little information about endophytes on Piper hispidum, a medicinal shrub used as an insecticide, astringent, diuretic, stimulant, liver treatment, and for stopping hemorrhages. We isolated the fungal endophyte community associated with P. hispidum leaves from plants in a Brazilian forest remnant. The endophytic diversity was examined based on sequencing of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of rDNA. A high colonization frequency was obtained, as expected for tropical angiosperms. Isolated endophytes were divided into 66 morphogroups, demonstrating considerable diversity. We identified 21 isolates, belonging to 11 genera (Alternaria, Bipolaris, Colletotrichum, Glomerella, Guignardia, Lasiodiplodia, Marasmius, Phlebia, Phoma, Phomopsis, and Schizophyllum); one isolate was identified only to the order level (Diaporthales). Bipolaris was the most frequent genus among the identified endophytes. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the molecular identification of some isolates to genus level while for others it was confirmed at the species level.

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Tropical plants as chimera: some implications of foliar endophytic fungi for the study of host-plant defence, physiology and genetics

Cited by 26 publications

References 38 publications

Endophytic fungi as biocontrol agents of Theobroma cacao pathogens

Endophytic fungi as biocontrol agents of Theobroma cacao pathogens

Phylogenetic signal in plant pathogen–host range

Diversity of endophytic fungal community associated with Piper hispidum (Piperaceae) leaves

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