Moths that Vector a Plant Pathogen also Transport Endophytic Fungi and Mycoparasitic Antagonists |
| |
Authors: | Tracy S Feldman Heath E O’Brien A Elizabeth Arnold |
| |
Institution: | (1) Biology Department, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338, USA;(2) Plant Biology Division, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, 2510 Sam Noble Pky., Ardmore, OK 73401, USA;(3) Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, 1140 E. South Campus Drive, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA |
| |
Abstract: | Claviceps paspali, a common fungal pathogen of Paspalum grasses, attracts moth vectors by producing sugary exudates in the grass florets it infects. These exudates also support
mycoparasitic Fusarium species that may negatively influence C. paspali fitness. We examined the potential for moths on which C. paspali depends to also transmit mycoparasitic Fusarium and fungal endophytes, which inhabit asymptomatic plant tissue and may influence host susceptibility to pathogens. We quantified
infections by C. paspali, Fusarium spp., and endophytic fungi associated with Paspalum spp. at focal sites in the southeastern USA and used data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) to compare
communities of plant-associated and moth-borne fungi. ITS sequences of moth-borne fungi were identical to reference sequences
of mycoparasitic Fusarium heterosporum and to three distinct endophytic fungi isolated from Paspalum species. Our results demonstrate an unexpected overlap of fungal communities between disparate locations and among plant
species and plant tissues, and suggest an unexpected role of moths, which vector a plant pathogen, to transmit other guilds
of fungi. In turn, the potential for insects to transmit plant pathogens as well as mycoparasites and endophytic fungi suggests
complex interactions underlying a commonly observed grass–pathogen system.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|