A First Draft of the Core Fungal Microbiome of Schedonorus arundinaceus with and without Its Fungal Mutualist Epichloe coenophiala

ABSTRACT: Tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) is a cool-season grass which is commonly infected with the fungal endophyte Epichloë coenophiala. Although the relationship between tall fescue and E. coenophiala is well-studied, less is known about its broader fungal communities. We used next-generation sequencing of the ITS2 region to describe the complete foliar fungal microbiomes in a set of field-grown tall fescue plants over two years, and whether these fungal communities were affected by the presence of Epichloë. We used the Georgia 5 cultivar of tall fescue, grown in the field for six years prior to sampling. Plants were either uninfected with E. coenophiala, or they were infected with one of two E. coenophiala strains: The common toxic strain or the AR542 strain (sold commerically as MaxQ).

SUBMITTER: Dale J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9605371 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature