Fungal endophyte communities differ between chestnut galls and surrounding foliar tissues

Foliar endophytic fungi are present in almost all vascular plants. The composition of endophyte communities varies among plant individuals. Likely, but understudied, sources of this variation are the species composition of the plant community and initial attacks by insect herbivores. We addressed these issues by characterizing fungal endophyte communities on leaves of chestnut (Castanea sativa) grown in pure vs. mixed stands. We used ITS metabarcoding methods to identify endophytic fungi associated with galls caused by the invasive gall wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus, and with surrounding chestnut leaf tissues. We found 1378 different OTUs. The richness, diversity and composition of endophyte communities differed between galls and surrounding leaf tissues but were independent of forest stand composition. Fungal endophyte richness was lower in galls than in surrounding leaf tissues. Most differences in the composition of fungal endophyte communities between galls and foliar tissues were due to OTU turnover. These results suggest that insect-induced galls provide a particular habitat condition for endophytic microorganisms, regardless of forest species composition. A better understanding of endophyte biology is important to improve their use as biocontrol agents of galling insects.