Host genotype shapes the foliar fungal microbiome of balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera).

ABSTRACT: Foliar fungal communities of plants are diverse and ubiquitous. In grasses endophytes may increase host fitness; in trees, their ecological roles are poorly understood. We investigated whether the genotype of the host tree influences community structure of foliar fungi. We sampled leaves from genotyped balsam poplars from across the species' range, and applied 454 amplicon sequencing to characterize foliar fungal communities. At the time of the sampling the poplars had been growing in a common garden for two years. We found diverse fungal communities associated with the poplar leaves. Linear discriminant analysis and generalized linear models showed that host genotypes had a structuring effect on the composition of foliar fungal communities. The observed patterns may be explained by a filt

SUBMITTER: Balint M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3543377 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature