TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant response to fungal root endophytes varies by host genotype in the foundation species Spartina alterniflora
AU - Hughes, A. Randall
AU - Moore, Althea F.P.
AU - Gehring, Catherine
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank B. Brady, R. Coker, T. Hanley, M. Murdock, F. Schenck, and R. Zerebecki for help maintaining the greenhouse experiment and processing samples. M. Freedman created the drawings for Fig. 3 . We appreciate constructive comments from two anonymous reviewers. This project was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DEB‐0928279 to ARH, IOS‐1556738 to ARH, and IOS‐1556087 to C.A.G.). This is contribution 408 from the Northeastern University Marine Science Center.
Funding Information:
We thank B. Brady, R. Coker, T. Hanley, M. Murdock, F. Schenck, and R. Zerebecki for help maintaining the greenhouse experiment and processing samples. M. Freedman created the drawings for Fig. 3. We appreciate constructive comments from two anonymous reviewers. This project was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DEB-0928279 to ARH, IOS-1556738 to ARH, and IOS-1556087 to C.A.G.). This is contribution 408 from the Northeastern University Marine Science Center.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Botanical Society of America
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - PREMISE: Root-associated fungi provide a wide range of functions for their host plants, including nutrient provisioning, pathogen protection, and stress alleviation. In so doing, they can markedly influence host-plant structural and physiological traits, although the degree to which these effects vary within particular plant host species is not well understood. METHODS: We conducted a 7-month common-garden inoculation experiment to test the potential effects of a marine fungus (Lulwoana sp.) on the phenotypic traits of different genotypes of the host, the salt marsh plant species Spartina alterniflora. Lulwoana belongs to the dark septate endophytes (DSE), a polyphyletic group of fungi that are commonly found colonizing healthy plant roots, though their ecological role remains unclear. RESULTS: We documented significant impacts of Lulwoana on S. alterniflora morphology, biomass, and biomass allocation. For most traits in our study, these impacts varied significantly in direction and/or magnitude across S. alterniflora genotypes. Effects that were consistent across genotype were generally negative. Plant response was not predicted by the percentage of roots colonized, consistent with findings that dark septate endophytes do not necessarily influence plant growth responses through direct contact with roots. CONCLUSIONS: The observed changes in stem height, biomass, and biomass allocation have important effects on plant competitive ability, growth, and fitness, suggesting that plant–fungal interactions have community and ecosystem level effects in salt marshes.
AB - PREMISE: Root-associated fungi provide a wide range of functions for their host plants, including nutrient provisioning, pathogen protection, and stress alleviation. In so doing, they can markedly influence host-plant structural and physiological traits, although the degree to which these effects vary within particular plant host species is not well understood. METHODS: We conducted a 7-month common-garden inoculation experiment to test the potential effects of a marine fungus (Lulwoana sp.) on the phenotypic traits of different genotypes of the host, the salt marsh plant species Spartina alterniflora. Lulwoana belongs to the dark septate endophytes (DSE), a polyphyletic group of fungi that are commonly found colonizing healthy plant roots, though their ecological role remains unclear. RESULTS: We documented significant impacts of Lulwoana on S. alterniflora morphology, biomass, and biomass allocation. For most traits in our study, these impacts varied significantly in direction and/or magnitude across S. alterniflora genotypes. Effects that were consistent across genotype were generally negative. Plant response was not predicted by the percentage of roots colonized, consistent with findings that dark septate endophytes do not necessarily influence plant growth responses through direct contact with roots. CONCLUSIONS: The observed changes in stem height, biomass, and biomass allocation have important effects on plant competitive ability, growth, and fitness, suggesting that plant–fungal interactions have community and ecosystem level effects in salt marshes.
KW - Lulwoana
KW - Poaceae
KW - Spartina alterniflora
KW - cordgrass
KW - dark septate endophyte
KW - intraspecific variation
KW - root-associated fungi
KW - salt marsh
KW - symbiont
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U2 - 10.1002/ajb2.1573
DO - 10.1002/ajb2.1573
M3 - Article
C2 - 33252780
AN - SCOPUS:85094947164
SN - 0002-9122
VL - 107
SP - 1645
EP - 1653
JO - American Journal of Botany
JF - American Journal of Botany
IS - 12
ER -