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

Jenna C. M. Dale; Jonathan A. Newman

doi:10.3390/jof8101026

journal article Open Access Sep 28, 2022

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

Jenna C. M. Dale

Jonathan A. Newman

Journal of Fungi Vol. 8 No. 10 pp. 1026 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/jof8101026

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). We observed 3487 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) across all plants and identified 43 ASVs which may make up a potential core microbiome. Fungal communities did not differ strongly between Epichloë treatments, but did show a great deal of variation between the two years. Plant fitness also changed over time but was not influenced by E. coenophiala infection.

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Details

Published: Sep 28, 2022
Vol/Issue: 8(10)
Pages: 1026
License: View

Authors

J

Jenna C. M. Dale

Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

J

Jonathan A. Newman

Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada

Funding

Canada Foundation for Innovation

Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Cite This Article

Jenna C. M. Dale, Jonathan A. Newman (2022). A First Draft of the Core Fungal Microbiome of Schedonorus arundinaceus with and without Its Fungal Mutualist Epichloë coenophiala. Journal of Fungi, 8(10), 1026. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8101026

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

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