Project description:The endophytic fungi of certain grasses and herbaceous plants provide anti-herbivore defense compounds, thus living in mutualistic interaction with their hosts. Still, there is little information on such cooperation for tree-associated endophytes. We investigate the influence of the endophytic fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides on the chemical defenses of black poplar Populus nigra trees and the consequences on feeding preference, fitness of herbivorous insects, and insect community assembly. Strikingly, endophyte colonization increases both constitutive- and induced poplar defenses. Generalist Lymantria dispar larvae prefer and perform better on uninfected poplars due to the higher concentrations of salicinoids and fungal alkaloid stachydrine in endophyte-infected leaves. Under field conditions, the endophytic fungus shapes insect community assembly in young black poplar trees. Our results show that endophytic fungi can play a significant role in defending trees against herbivorous insects and structuring insect communities.
Project description:The recent release of a large number of genomes from ectomycorrhizal, orchid mycorrhizal and root endophytic fungi have provided deep insight into fungal lifestyle-associated genomic adaptation. Comparative analyses of symbiotic fungal taxa showed that similar outcomes of interactions in distant related root symbioses are examples of convergent evolution. The order Sebacinales represents a sister group to the Agaricomycetes (Basidiomycota) that is comprised of ectomycorrhizal, ericoid-, orchid- mycorrhizal, root endophytic fungi and saprotrophs (Oberwinkler et al., 2013). Sebacinoid taxa are widely distributed from arctic to temperate to tropical ecosystems and are among the most common and species-rich groups of ECM, OM and endophytic fungi (Tedersoo et al., 2012, Tedersoo et al., 2010, Oberwinkler et al., 2013). The root endophyte Piriformospora indica and the orchid mycorrhizal fungus S. vermifera (MAFF 305830) are non-obligate root symbionts which were shown to be able to interact with many different experimental hosts, including the non-mycorrhizal plant Arabidopsis thaliana. These two fungi display similar colonization strategies in barley and in Arabidopsis and the ability to establish beneficial interactions with different hosts (Deshmukh et al., 2006). Colonization of the roots by P. indica and S. vermifera results in enhanced seed germination and biomass production as well as increased resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses in its experimental hosts, including various members of the Brassicaceae family, barley, Nicotiana attenuata and switchgrass (Ghimire, 2011, Ghimire et al., 2009, Ghimire et al., 2011, Waller et al., 2008, Barazani et al., 2007, Deshmukh et al., 2006). Microarray experiments were performed to identify and characterize conserved sebacinoid genes as key determinants in the Sebacinales symbioses.
Project description:Deadwood plays a crucial role in forest ecosystems, but we have limited information about the specific fungal taxa and extracellular lignocellulolytic enzymes that are actively involved in the decomposition process in situ. To investigate this, we studied the fungal metaproteome of twelve deadwood tree species in a replicated, eight-year experiment. Key fungi observed included genera of white-rot fungi (Basidiomycota, e.g. Armillaria, Hypholoma, Mycena, Ischnoderma, Resinicium), brown-rot fungi (Basidiomycota, e.g. Fomitopsis, Antrodia), diverse Ascomycota including xylariacous soft-rot fungi (e.g. Xylaria, Annulohypoxylon, Nemania) and various wood-associated endophytes and saprotrophs (Ascocoryne, Trichoderma, Talaromyces). These fungi used a whole range of extracellular lignocellulolytic enzymes, such as peroxidases, peroxide-producing enzymes, laccases, cellulases, glucosidases, hemicellulases (xylanases) and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs). Both the fungi and enzymes were tree-specific, with specialists and generalists being distinguished by network analysis. The extracellular enzymatic system was highly redundant, with many enzyme classes of different origins present simultaneously in all decaying logs. Strong correlations were found between peroxide-producing enzymes (oxidases) and peroxidases as well as LPMOs, and between ligninolytic, cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes. The overall protein abundance of lignocellulolytic enzymes was reduced by up to -30% in gymnosperm logs compared to angiosperm logs, and gymnosperms lacked ascomycetous enzymes, which may have contributed to the lower decomposition of gymnosperm wood. In summary, we have obtained a comprehensive and detailed insight into the enzymatic machinery of wood-inhabiting fungi in several temperate forest tree species, which can help to improve our understanding of the complex ecological processes in forest ecosystems.