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The endophytic mycobiota of Arabidopsis thaliana

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Abstract

Fungal endophytes are receiving increasing attention as resources to improve crop production and ecosystem management. However, the biology and ecological significance of these symbionts remains poorly understood, due to a lack of model systems for more efficient research. In this work, we have analyzed the culturable endophytic mycobiota associated, in the wild, with leaves and siliques of the model plant A. thaliana. We have studied the effect of biotic and abiotic factors in the frequency of fungal endophytes in plant specimens, and in the species composition of the endophytic community. Our results indicate that the frequency of Arabidopsis plants hosting endophytes depends on the time of the year and the phenological stage of the plant, and that the probability of endophyte colonization increases as the life cycle of the plant progresses. The diversity of the endophytic assemblages of natural A. thaliana populations was high, and precipitation and temperature were the two main factors determining the diversity and species composition of the communities. We propose A. thaliana and its endophytes as a model system for an integral approach to the principles governing the endophytic lifestyle, taking advantage of the molecular tools and the abundant knowledge accessible from the host plant.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Carlos Alonso-Blanco and Fernando García-Arenal for showing us the localization of the wild populations of A. thaliana. We also thank Drs. Fernando García-Arenal, and Mª Ángeles Ayllón, and an anonymous reviewer, for critical review and suggestions for improving the manuscript. Mª Ángeles Portal provided excellent technical assistance. Meteorological data have been gently provided by the Spanish Metereology Agency (AEMET). This work was funded by grants CAM CCG07-UPM/GEN-1899 of DGUI of Comunidad de Madrid and UPM and AGL2008-00818 of Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of the Spanish Government to Soledad Sacristán.

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  1. Elena García

    Present address: Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Avenida Reina Mercedes 10, 41012, Sevilla, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA) and E.T.S.I. Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Autopista M40 (Km. 38), 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain

    Elena García & Soledad Sacristán

  2. Departamento de Biotecnología, E.T.S.I. Agrónomos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Complutense s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Ángela Alonso

  3. Fundación Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía MEDINA, Parque Tecnológico de las Ciencias de la Salud de Granada, Avda del Conocimiento 3, 18100, Armilla, Granada, Spain

    Gonzalo Platas

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  1. Elena García
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  2. Ángela Alonso
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  4. Soledad Sacristán
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Correspondence to Soledad Sacristán.

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Bayesian consensus tree of the ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 sequence region of 120 fungal endophytic isolates of the different populations of A. thaliana. Only bootstrap values above 80 are shown. (PDF 175 kb)

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García, E., Alonso, Á., Platas, G. et al. The endophytic mycobiota of Arabidopsis thaliana . Fungal Diversity 60, 71–89 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-012-0219-0

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