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Fungal endophytes from seeds of invasive, non-native Phragmites australis and their potential role in germination and seedling growth

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Abstract

Background and aims

We characterized fungal endophytes of seeds of invasive, non-native Phragmites from three sites in the Great Lakes region to determine if fungal symbiosis could contribute to invasiveness through their effects on seed germination and seedling growth.

Methods

Field-collected seeds were surface sterilized and plated on agar to culture endophytes for ITS sequencing. Prevalence of specific endophytes from germinated and non-germinated seeds, and from seedlings, was compared.

Results

One-third of 740 seeds yielded endophyte isolates. Fifteen taxa were identified with Alternaria sp. representing 54% of all isolates followed by Phoma sp. (21%) and Penicillium corylophilum (12%). Overall germination of seeds producing an isolate (36%) was significantly higher than seeds not producing an isolate (20%). Penicillium in particular was strongly associated with increased germination of seeds from one site. Sixty-three isolates and 11 taxa were also obtained from 30 seedlings where Phoma, Penicillium and Alternaria respectively were most prevalent. There was a significant effect of isolating an endophyte from the seed on seedling growth.

Conclusions

These results suggest that many endophyte taxa are transmitted in seeds and can increase seed germination and seedling growth of invasive Phragmites. The role of fungal endophytes in host establishment, growth and invasiveness in nature requires further research.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the USGS cooperative agreement G13 AC00285 to Indiana University. Any use of trade, firm or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. We thank the Clay Lab group at Indiana University, Ray Callaway (University of Montana), and two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Zackery R. C. Shearin, Matthew Filipek, Rushvi Desai & Keith Clay

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105-2807, USA

    Wesley A. Bickford & Kurt P. Kowalski

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  1. Zackery R. C. Shearin
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  2. Matthew Filipek
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  3. Rushvi Desai
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  4. Wesley A. Bickford
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  5. Kurt P. Kowalski
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  6. Keith Clay
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Correspondence to Keith Clay.

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Responsible Editor: Eric B. Nelson.

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Shearin, Z.R.C., Filipek, M., Desai, R. et al. Fungal endophytes from seeds of invasive, non-native Phragmites australis and their potential role in germination and seedling growth. Plant Soil 422, 183–194 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3241-x

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