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Rhizosphere microbiome selection by Epichloë endophytes of Festuca arundinacea

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Abstract

Aims

Loline alkaloids produced by Epichloë spp. are known to deter feeding by insect herbivores while also serving as a significant carbon source for certain epiphytic bacteria on tall fescue leaves. In this study we examined the role of loline alkaloids in attracting certain bacteria to the rhizosphere of tall fescue plants that harbor loline producing fungal endophytes.

Methods

Population studies were used to compare the fitness of known loline catabolizing strains to other rhizosphere bacteria. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA fragments compared the composition of bacterial communities inhabiting the endophyte infected tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) rhizosphere to those of endophyte free fescue plants.

Results

Rhizosphere population studies demonstrated that loline catabolizing strains Burkholderia ambifaria 7R and Pseudomonas aureofaciens outcompete and suppress the growth of non-loline catabolizing strains. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA fragments showed greater percentages of certain plant growth promoting bacteria in rhizosperes seeded with B. ambifaria 7R than non-inoculated soils. Rhizospheres of endophyte infected plants showed higher species richness (Shannon diversity index = 4.03) over endophyte free rhizospheres (Shannon diversity index = 3.08) and a greater percentage of Firmicutes.

Conclusions

The differences in microbial community composition between endophyte-infected and endophyte-free rhizospheres suggest that the presence of fungal endophytes influences microbial community structure. Loline alkaloid production may be one proxy by which the fungal endophyte shapes microbial communities, as evidenced by increased fitness of loline catabolizing bacteria in the tall fescue rhizosphere.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially funded by a National Science Foundation Grant No: 1237624, and Connecticut State internal grant funding schemes. Special thanks to Dr. James F. White Jr. for reviewing this manuscript.

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  1. Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven, CT, USA

    Elizabeth Lewis Roberts & Aileen Ferraro

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  1. Elizabeth Lewis Roberts
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  2. Aileen Ferraro
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Lewis Roberts.

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Responsible Editor: Yoav Bashan.

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Roberts, E.L., Ferraro, A. Rhizosphere microbiome selection by Epichloë endophytes of Festuca arundinacea . Plant Soil 396, 229–239 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2585-3

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