Impacts of naturally-occurring soil fungi on seeds of meadow plants |
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Authors: | Schafer Michelle Kotanen Peter M |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Botany, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, CANADA |
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Abstract: | Although soil fungi may represent an ecologically important cause of mortality of buried seeds, few studies have provided
direct evidence of the pathogenicity of fungi colonizing seeds in natural habitats. In response, we conducted a series of
experiments to investigate the impacts of soil fungi from a range of habitats on seeds of meadow plants. We compared the survival
of seeds of four grasses in five habitats, and isolated fungi from these seeds. We then tested the pathogenicity of selected
isolates against two standard sets of plant species: the original four grasses and a broad range of old field species. We
found that the soil community contained a large variety of seed-colonizing fungi. Some, but not all, examples of these fungi
caused seed mortality; others may be harmless commensals. Some of these isolates negatively affected a broad range of plant
species, but others had a more restricted host range; as a result, pathogenicity varied depending upon the particular plant-fungus
combination. Few between-habitat differences in seed survival were detected. Our results demonstrate that fungal seed pathogens
are common, ubiquitous, and potentially lethal, but that their effects depend on the particular combination of fungus and
plant species considered.
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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Keywords: | Grasses Old fields Pathogens Plant disease Seed banks Soil fungi |
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