Differences in community composition of endophytic fungi between above- and below-ground tissues of Aristolochia chilensis in an arid ecosystem

M J Guevara-Araya,C Vilo,A Urzúa,M González-Teuber

doi:10.1186/s40693-020-00091-y

Abstract

BackgroundEndophytic fungi are diverse and ubiquitous in nature, yet studies simultaneously comparing endophyte communities in above- and below-ground plant tissues are relatively scarce. The main goal of our study was to compare the diversity and community composition of endophytic fungi associated with above- and below-ground tissues of the plant Aristolochia chilensis in an arid ecosystem. Endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy leaves and roots of A. chilensis, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was sequenced for phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis.ResultsA combined total of 457 fungal isolates were cultured from leaf and root tissues, belonging to 54 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The genera Fusarium, Penicillium, Phialemonium and Trichoderma were the most representative endophyte taxa identified in A. chilensis tissues; nevertheless, Fusarium was significantly more dominant in the below-ground community, while foliar endophyte community was dominated by Penicillium. Whereas OTU richness and diversity were not different between below-ground and above-ground tissues, endophyte abundance was on average twice as high in below-ground tissue than in above-ground tissue. Fungal endophyte communities in the two tissue types were significantly dissimilar.ConclusionsResults from this study indicate that A. chilensis harbors a similar diversity of endophytic fungi in above- and below-ground tissues. Dominant endophytic fungi were found to be dependent on tissue type, which potentially resulted in marked differences in community structure between above- and below-ground tissues. Ecological processes potentially affecting this pattern are discussed.

Highlights

Endophytic fungi are diverse and ubiquitous in nature, yet studies simultaneously comparing endophyte communities in above- and below-ground plant tissues are relatively scarce
Seven fungal genera, including Cladosporium, Fusarium, Meyerozyma, Penicillium, Preussia, Talaromyces and Trichoderma were present in both tissue types
Different endophyte taxa were found to dominate respective tissues: while the genus Fusarium was significantly more dominant in below-ground tissues (F1.18 = 39.5, P < 0.001, nested ANOVA) (Fig. 2), foliar endophytes were dominated by the Penicillium genus (F1.18 = 5.12, P = 0.036, nested ANOVA) (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Endophytic fungi are diverse and ubiquitous in nature, yet studies simultaneously comparing endophyte communities in above- and below-ground plant tissues are relatively scarce. Fungal endophytes frequently occur in a variety of plant structures, living intercellularly in roots, stems and leaves [1] for at least part of their life cycle without causing any apparent sign of disease in hosts [2] They are ubiquitous in nature, and have been isolated from every organ of most plant species [3]. Studies on the diversity and distribution of endophytic fungi for a given plant species is relevant in order to understand how these symbionts may confer fitness benefits and ecological adaptations to plants This is true when host plants grow under extreme environmental conditions such as arid habitats

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