Non-systemic fungal endophytes of grasses.
2011
Sánchez Márquez, M. Salud | Bills, Gerald F. | Herrero Asensio, Noemí | Zabalgogeazcoa, Iñigo
[ENG] Many fungi behave as endophytes in grasses. Unlike the well known Epichloë/Neotyphodium species, most other endophytes are not capable of systemic colonization of plant organs, or seed transmission. The species diversity of the non-systemic endophytic mycobiota of grasses is large, dominated by ascomycetes. The relative abundance of species is very unequal, a few dominant taxa like Acremonium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, and Penicillium spp., occur in many grasses and locations. In contrast, many rare species are isolated only once in endophyte surveys. The possible ecological functions of endophytes are diverse, and often unknown. Latent pathogens represent a small fraction of endophytic mycobiotas, indicating that many non pathogenic fungal taxa have the capability to penetrate plants overriding defence reactions. Some dominant species behave as latent saprophytes, sporulating when the host tissue dies. Endofungal viruses and bacteria occur among endophytic species, but their effect in their hosts is largely unknown.
Show more [+] Less [-]We are grateful for comments and suggestions to Pedro Gundel and Soledad Sacristán
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