Endophytic Fungal Communities Associated with Vascular Plants in the High Arctic Zone Are Highly Diverse and Host-Plant Specific

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 12;10(6):e0130051. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130051. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

This study assessed the diversity and distribution of endophytic fungal communities associated with the leaves and stems of four vascular plant species in the High Arctic using 454 pyrosequencing with fungal-specific primers targeting the ITS region. Endophytic fungal communities showed high diversity. The 76,691 sequences obtained belonged to 250 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Of these OTUs, 190 belonged to Ascomycota, 50 to Basidiomycota, 1 to Chytridiomycota, and 9 to unknown fungi. The dominant orders were Helotiales, Pleosporales, Capnodiales, and Tremellales, whereas the common known fungal genera were Cryptococcus, Rhizosphaera, Mycopappus, Melampsora, Tetracladium, Phaeosphaeria, Mrakia, Venturia, and Leptosphaeria. Both the climate and host-related factors might shape the fungal communities associated with the four Arctic plant species in this region. These results suggested the presence of an interesting endophytic fungal community and could improve our understanding of fungal evolution and ecology in the Arctic terrestrial ecosystems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arctic Regions
  • Base Sequence
  • Biodiversity*
  • Endophytes / classification
  • Endophytes / genetics
  • Endophytes / isolation & purification*
  • Fungi / classification*
  • Fungi / genetics
  • Fungi / physiology
  • Host Specificity*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Symbiosis

Grants and funding

Funding has been provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Nos. 31300115 and 41271222), Polar Strategic Research Foundation of China (No. 20120302), and Projects of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, State Oceanic Administration (Nos. 2013YR06006 and 2013YR05005). The funders had role in data collection.