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Diversity of fungal endophytes in non-native Phragmites australis in the Great Lakes

  • Phragmites Invasion
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Abstract

Plant–microbial interactions may play a key role in plant invasions. One common microbial interaction takes place between plants and fungal endophytes when fungi asymptomatically colonize host plant tissues. The objectives of this study were to isolate and sequence fungal endophytes colonizing non-native Phragmites australis in the Great Lakes region to evaluate variation in endophyte community composition among three host tissue types and three geographical regions. We collected entire ramets from multiple clones and populations, surface sterilized plant tissues, and plated replicate tissue samples from leaves, stems, and rhizomes on corn meal agar plates to culture and isolate fungal endophytes. Isolates were then subjected to Sanger sequencing of the ITS region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. Sequences were compared to fungal databases to define operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were analyzed statistically for community composition. In total, we obtained 173 endophyte isolates corresponding to 55 OTUs, 39 of which were isolated only a single time. The most common OTU corresponded most closely to Sarocladium strictum and comprised 25 % of all fungal isolates. More OTUs were found in stem tissues, but endophyte diversity was greatest in rhizome tissues. PERMANOVA analyses indicated significant differences in endophyte communities among tissue types, geographical regions, and the interaction between those factors, but no differences among individual ramets were detected. The functional role of the isolated endophytes is not yet known, but one genus isolated here (Stagonospora) has been reported to enhance Phragmites growth. Understanding the diversity and functions of Phragmites endophytes may provide targets for control measures based on disrupting host plant/endophyte interactions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the USGS cooperative agreement G13AC00285 to Indiana University. We thank undergraduate students Savannah Wooten and Erin Woehlke, high school student Phiona Raffington, and graduate student Qing Chai for help with lab work and Sean Green and Dustin Bradley of the USGS - Great Lakes Science Center for their help with fieldwork. We thank graduate student Natalie Christian (Department of Biology, Indiana University) for assistance with statistical model generation and analysis. We also thank Noel Pavlovic of the USGS - Great Lakes Science Center for assistance with site identification, site history, and sample collection at the Indiana site. We thank Don Bonnette of the Michigan DNR for assisting with site identification and access for the Sandusky State Game Area in Michigan. We also thank the Ottawa County Soil and Water Conservation District (Mike Libben, Jarred Molesky) for putting us in touch with the South Lake Hunt Club in Ohio. Finally, we greatly appreciate being granted access to the South Lake Hunt Club. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This article is Contribution 2026 of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Keith Clay & Zackery R. C. Shearin

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

    Kimberly A. Bourke, Wesley A. Bickford & Kurt P. Kowalski

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  1. Keith Clay
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  2. Zackery R. C. Shearin
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Correspondence to Keith Clay.

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Guest editors: Laura A. Meyerson & Kristin Saltonstall/Phragmites invasion.

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Clay, K., Shearin, Z.R.C., Bourke, K.A. et al. Diversity of fungal endophytes in non-native Phragmites australis in the Great Lakes. Biol Invasions 18, 2703–2716 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1137-y

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