Journal
FUNGAL ECOLOGY
Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 70-82Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2012.08.004
Keywords
Ascomycota; Dark septate endophytes; Endophyte; Melanin; Mutualism; Zygomycota
Funding
- Environmental Trust, Department of Environment and Conservation, N.S.W., Australia
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Knowledge of the abundance, diversity, and plant interactions of melanised root-associated fungi remains limited. The objective of this study was to isolate a wide variety of melanised root-associated fungi within the Sydney basin (NSW, Australia) and assess growth response of Trifolium subterraneum to inoculation with individual isolates. Of 902 root-associated fungi isolated from plant roots, 118 were melanised. All but two of these fungi were re-isolated from inoculated T. subterraneum seedlings after 7 weeks in a controlled environment. Approximately 60 % of the melanised root-associated fungi did not reduce plant growth. Twenty-four isolates tended to increase plant growth and were tentatively identified as predominantly ascomycetes, and one zygomycete. Melanised root-associated fungi appeared to form complex interactions with T. subterraneum, the natures of which remain to be further explored. Melanised root-associated fungi could potentially play key ecological roles including positively influencing edaphic conditions. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.
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