The influence of genetics, defensive chemistry and the fungal microbiome on disease outcome in whitebark pine trees.

ABSTRACT: The invasive fungal pathogen Cronartium ribicola infects and kills whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) throughout western North America. Whitebark pine has been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act in the USA, and the loss of this species is predicted to have severe impacts on ecosystem composition and function in high-elevation forests. Numerous fungal endophytes live inside whitebark pine tissues and may influence the severity of C. ribicola infection, either directly by inhibition of pathogen growth or indirectly by the induction of chemical defensive pathways in the tree. Terpenes, a form of chemical defence in pine trees, can also influence disease. In this study, we characterized fungal endophyte communities in whitebark pine seedlings before and after experimental ino

SUBMITTER: Bullington LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6638087 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature