Abstract
A dark-septate endophytic (DSE) fungus EF-M was isolated from the roots of an alpine plant Saussurea involucrata Kar. et Kir. ex Maxim. The fungus was identified by sequencing the PCR-amplified rDNA 5.8S gene and ITS regions. The sequence was compared with similar sequences in the GenBank, and results showed that EF-M was congeneric to Leptodontidium. Resynthesis study was conducted to clarify the relationship between the root endophyte EF-M and the host plant S. involucrata using the material grown in sterile culture bottle. In roots recovered 6 weeks after inoculation, epidermal cells were colonized by intercellular and intracellular hyphae and “microsclerotia” formed within individual cells in the epidermis layers. However, hyphae did not invade the cortex and the stele. There were no profound effects of endophyte EF-M on plant root development, but significant differences were detected in plant height and shoot dry weight between the treatments. The present study is the first report hitherto on DSE fungi in S. involucrata.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Emma Aronson (University of Pennsylvania) and Yiqin Wang (Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for critically reviewing the manuscript. Also, we would like to thank Baohua Song (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology) for the help with the sequence analysis. This work was supported by the Chinese National Science Fund for Outstanding Youths (30325047).
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Wu, L., Guo, S. Interaction between an isolate of dark-septate fungi and its host plant Saussurea involucrata . Mycorrhiza 18, 79–85 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-007-0159-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00572-007-0159-9