The Biological Diversity and Production of Volatile Organic Compounds by Stem-Inhabiting Endophytic Fungi of Ecuador.

ABSTRACT: Fungal endophytes colonize every major lineage of land plants without causing apparent harm to their hosts. Despite their production of interesting and potentially novel compounds, endophytes-particularly those inhabiting stem tissues-are still a vastly underexplored component of microbial diversity. In this study, we explored the diversity of over 1500 fungal endophyte isolates collected from three Ecuadorian ecosystems: lowland tropical forest, cloud forest, and coastal dry forest. We sought to determine whether Ecuador's fungal endophytes are hyperdiverse, and whether that biological diversity is reflected in the endophytes' chemical diversity. To assess this chemical diversity, we analyzed a subset of isolates for their production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a representative

SUBMITTER: Rundell SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5753131 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature