Communities of endophytic sebacinales associated with roots of herbaceous plants in agricultural and grassland ecosystems are dominated by Serendipita herbamans sp. nov

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 17;9(4):e94676. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094676. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Endophytic fungi are known to be commonly associated with herbaceous plants, however, there are few studies focusing on their occurrence and distribution in plant roots from ecosystems with different land uses. To explore the phylogenetic diversity and community structure of Sebacinales endophytes from agricultural and grassland habitats under different land uses, we analysed the roots of herbaceous plants using strain isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and co-cultivation experiments. A new sebacinoid strain named Serendipita herbamans belonging to Sebacinales group B was isolated from the roots of Bistorta vivipara, which is characterized by colourless monilioid cells (chlamydospores) that become yellow with age. This species was very common and widely distributed in association with a broad spectrum of herbaceous plant families in diverse habitats, independent of land use type. Ultrastructurally, the presence of S. herbamans was detected in the cortical cells of Plantago media, Potentilla anserina and Triticum aestivum. In addition, 13 few frequent molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) or species were found across agricultural and grassland habitats, which did not exhibit a distinctive phylogenetic structure. Laboratory-based assays indicate that S. herbamans has the ability to colonize fine roots and stimulate plant growth. Although endophytic Sebacinales are widely distributed across agricultural and grassland habitats, TEM and nested PCR analyses reinforce the observation that these microorganisms are present in low quantity in plant roots, with no evidence of host specificity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agriculture
  • Arabidopsis / microbiology*
  • Basidiomycota / genetics
  • Basidiomycota / physiology*
  • Endophytes / genetics
  • Endophytes / physiology*
  • Genetic Variation
  • Grassland*
  • Phylogeny*
  • Plant Roots / microbiology*
  • Poa / microbiology*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the German Foundation Research (OB 24/30-1) and the Open Access Publishing Fund of Tuebingen University. Additional funding was received by a Doctoral Government Scholarship to KR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.