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Jeffrey G. Duckett - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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From rhizoids to roots? Experimental evidence of mutualism between Liverworts and ascomycete fungi
Annals of botany, 2018Co-Authors: Jill Kowal, Silvia Pressel, Jeffrey G. Duckett, Martin I. Bidartondo, Katie J. FieldAbstract:Background and Aims The rhizoids of leafy Liverworts (Jungermanniales, Marchantiophyta) are commonly colonized by the ascomycete fungus Pezoloma ericae. These associations are hypothesized to be functionally analogous to the ericoid mycorrhizas (ErMs) formed by P. ericae with the roots of Ericaceae plants in terms of bi-directional phosphorus for carbon exchange; however, this remains unproven. Here, we test whether associations between the leafy Liverwort Cephalozia bicuspidata and P. ericae are mutualistic. Methods We measured movement of phosphorus and carbon between C. bicuspidata and P. ericae using [33P]orthophosphate and 14CO2 isotope tracers in monoxenic cultures. We also measured leafy Liverwort growth, with and without P. ericae. Key Results We present the first demonstration of nutritionally mutualistic symbiosis between a non-vascular plant and an ErM-forming fungus, showing transfer of fungal-acquired P to the Liverwort and of Liverwort-fixed C to the fungus alongside increased growth in fungus-colonized Liverworts. Conclusions Thus, this ascomycete–Liverwort symbiosis can now be described as mycorrhiza-like, providing further insights into ericoid mycorrhizal evolution and adding Ascomycota fungi to mycorrhizal fungal groups engaging in mutualisms with plants across the land plant phylogeny. As P. ericae also colonizes the rhizoids of Schistochilaceae Liverworts, which originated in the Triassic and are sister to all other jungermannialean Liverworts associated with fungi, our findings point toward an early origin of ascomycete–Liverwort symbioses, possibly pre-dating their evolution in the Ericales by some 150 million years.
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Liverworts to the rescue: an investigation of their efficacy as mycorrhizal inoculum for vascular plants
Functional Ecology, 2015Co-Authors: Jill Kowal, Silvia Pressel, Jeffrey G. Duckett, Martin I. BidartondoAbstract:Summary Pezoloma ericae (D.J. Read) Baral, a widespread mycorrhizal fungus of plants in the Ericales, is known to form intracellular associations with several families of leafy Liverworts (Schistochilaceae, Lepidoziaceae, Cephaloziaceae, Cephaloziellaceae) in vitro. The ecological significance of this link between vascular and non-vascular plants is unknown. Fungal symbionts were isolated from rhizoids of the leafy Liverworts Cephalozia connivens (Dicks.) Lindb. and C. bicuspidata (L.) Dum. (Cephaloziaceae), as well as from the hair roots of two dominant ericoid mycorrhiza-forming species of European heathlands, Erica tetralix (L.) and Calluna vulgaris (L.). Using pure cultures of P. ericae, we resynthesized Liverwort–fungus associations to use colonized Liverworts as inoculum which was applied to substrates supporting the growth of heather seedlings and cuttings. Effects were quantified using germination, rooting, plant colonization, plant survival under waterlogging stress and growth in height in experimental systems with and without Liverworts and/or fungi. Fungal symbionts growing from Liverwort rhizoids readily colonized the hair roots of ericaceous plants to form typical ericoid mycorrhizas. The presence of inoculum-bearing Liverworts led to significant increases in plant growth. Erica tetralix was more responsive to inoculation than C. vulgaris. Ericaceous cuttings rooted and survived more successfully when they were coplanted with previously colonized Liverwort stems. We demonstrate, under realistic ecological circumstances, that Liverworts can deliver mycorrhizal inoculum and improve the establishment of vascular plants. We propose that by providing sources of mycorrhizal inoculum, symbiotic non-vascular plants can contribute to the restoration of plant communities dominated by Ericales plants. This research leads to broader knowledge about the function of ericoid mycorrhizas in ecosystems.
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Riccardiothallus devonicus gen. et sp. nov., the earliest simple thalloid Liverwort from the Lower Devonian of Yunnan, China
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 2012Co-Authors: Dianne Edwards, Peng-cheng Wu, Francis M. Hueber, Jeffrey G. Duckett, Cheng-sen LiAbstract:This paper describes a fossil Liverwort in the Posongchong Formation, Lower Devonian (Pragian), Yunnan, China preserved as a partially permineralized compression in gray arenaceous mudstone. The plant comprises a regularly-bifurcating flat ecostate multilayered thallus with entire margins. Following comparisons of this fossil with gametophytes of extant and fossil Liverworts, a new genus Riccardiothallus was established in the family Aneuraceae (Jungermanniopsida). The fossil, which appears to be closely similar to several members of the extant genus Riccardia, is the earliest unequivocal megafossil evidence of a Liverwort. Considering the sedimentary environment of Riccardiothallus devonicus and the habitats of many extant Riccardia species, we conclude that Riccardiothallus devonicus probably lived in a warm and humid riverine environment. The age (Pragian, 407–411 Ma) of Riccardiothallus devonicus suggests that the differentiation of Jungermanniopsida and Metzgeriidae was in the Early Devonian, significantly earlier than the assumptions derived from analyses of chloroplast DNA sequences of modern Liverworts and current total evidence phylogenies (Late Devonian, 359–385 Ma; Late Carboniferous, 299–307 Ma).
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Conservative ecological and evolutionary patterns in Liverwort-fungal symbioses.
Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2009Co-Authors: Martin I. Bidartondo, Jeffrey G. DuckettAbstract:Liverworts, the most ancient group of land plants, form a range of intimate associations with fungi that may be analogous to the mycorrhizas of vascular plants. Most thalloid Liverworts contain arbuscular mycorrhizal glomeromycete fungi similar to most vascular plants. In contrast, a range of leafy Liverwort genera and one simple thalloid Liverwort family (the Aneuraceae) have switched to basidiomycete fungi. These Liverwort switches away from glomeromycete fungi may be expected to parallel switches undergone by vascular plants that target diverse lineages of basidiomycete fungi to form ectomycorrhizas. To test this hypothesis, we used a cultivation-independent approach to examine the basidiomycete fungi associated with Liverworts in varied worldwide locations by generating fungal DNA sequence data from over 200 field collections of over 30 species. Here we show that eight leafy Liverwort genera predominantly and consistently associate with members of the Sebacina vermifera species complex and that Aneuraceae thalloid Liverworts associate nearly exclusively with Tulasnella species. Furthermore, within sites where multiple Liverwort species co-occur, they almost never share the same fungi. Our analyses reveal a strikingly conservative ecological and evolutionary pattern of Liverwort symbioses with basidiomycete fungi that is unlike that of vascular plant mycorrhizas.
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A novel ascomycetous endophytic association in the rhizoids of the leafy Liverwort family, Schistochilaceae (Jungermanniidae, Hepaticopsida).
American Journal of Botany, 2008Co-Authors: Silvia Pressel, Roberto Ligrone, Jeffrey G. Duckett, E. Christine DavisAbstract:Liverworts form diverse associations with endophytic fungi similar to mycorrhizas in vascular plants. Whereas the widespread occurrence of glomeromycotes in the basal Liverwort lineages is well documented, knowledge of the distribution of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes in derived thalloid and leafy clades is more fragmented. Our discovery that the ramifi ed and septate rhizoids of the Schistochilaceae, the sister group to all other ascomycete-containing Liverworts, are packed with fungal hyphae prompted this study on the effects of the fungi on rhizoid morphology, host specifi city, the cytology of the association, and a molecular analysis of the endophytes. Two species of Pachyschistochila and their fungi were grown axenically. Axenic rhizoids were unbranched and nonseptate. Reinfected with their own fungus and that from the other species, both Pachyschistochila species produced branched and septate rhizoids identical to those in nature. Woronin bodies and simple septa identifi ed the fungus as an ascomycete referable, according to phylogenetic analyses of ITS sequences, to the Rhizoscyphus ( Hymenoscyphus ) ericae aggregate, also found in other Liverwort – ascomycete associations and in mycorrhizas in the Ericales. Healthy hyphae and host cytoplasm suggest that the Schistochila – fungus association refl ects a balanced mutualistic relationship. The recent dating of the divergence of the Jungermanniales from the fungus-free Porellales in the Permian and the origins of the Schistochilaceae in the Triassic indicate that these associations in Liverworts predate the appearance of the Ericales.
Silvia Pressel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Exploring the plastid genome disparity of Liverworts
Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 2019Co-Authors: Hong-mei Liu, Silvia Pressel, Jun‐bo Yang, Harald SchneiderAbstract:Sequencing the plastid genomes of land plants provides crucial improvements to our understanding of the plastome evolution of land plants. Although the number of available complete plastid genome sequences has rapidly increased in the recent years, only a few sequences have been yet released for the three bryophyte lineages, namely hornworts, Liverworts, and mosses. Here, we explore the disparity of the plastome structure of Liverworts by increasing the number of sequenced Liverwort plastomes from five to 18. The expanded sampling included representatives of all major lineages of Liverworts including the genus Haplomitrium. The disparity of the Liverwort genomes was compared with other 2386 land plant plastomes with emphasis on genome size and GC‐content. We found evidence for structural conservatism of the plastid genomes in Liverworts and a trend towards reduced plastome sequence length in Liverworts and derived mosses compared to other land plants, including hornworts and basal lineages of mosses. Furthermore, Aneura and Haplomitrium were distinct from other Liverworts by an increased GC content, with the one found in Haplomitrium only second to the lycophyte Selaginella. The results suggest the hypothesis that Liverworts and other land plants inherited and conserved the plastome structure of their most recent algal ancestors.
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From rhizoids to roots? Experimental evidence of mutualism between Liverworts and ascomycete fungi
Annals of botany, 2018Co-Authors: Jill Kowal, Silvia Pressel, Jeffrey G. Duckett, Martin I. Bidartondo, Katie J. FieldAbstract:Background and Aims The rhizoids of leafy Liverworts (Jungermanniales, Marchantiophyta) are commonly colonized by the ascomycete fungus Pezoloma ericae. These associations are hypothesized to be functionally analogous to the ericoid mycorrhizas (ErMs) formed by P. ericae with the roots of Ericaceae plants in terms of bi-directional phosphorus for carbon exchange; however, this remains unproven. Here, we test whether associations between the leafy Liverwort Cephalozia bicuspidata and P. ericae are mutualistic. Methods We measured movement of phosphorus and carbon between C. bicuspidata and P. ericae using [33P]orthophosphate and 14CO2 isotope tracers in monoxenic cultures. We also measured leafy Liverwort growth, with and without P. ericae. Key Results We present the first demonstration of nutritionally mutualistic symbiosis between a non-vascular plant and an ErM-forming fungus, showing transfer of fungal-acquired P to the Liverwort and of Liverwort-fixed C to the fungus alongside increased growth in fungus-colonized Liverworts. Conclusions Thus, this ascomycete–Liverwort symbiosis can now be described as mycorrhiza-like, providing further insights into ericoid mycorrhizal evolution and adding Ascomycota fungi to mycorrhizal fungal groups engaging in mutualisms with plants across the land plant phylogeny. As P. ericae also colonizes the rhizoids of Schistochilaceae Liverworts, which originated in the Triassic and are sister to all other jungermannialean Liverworts associated with fungi, our findings point toward an early origin of ascomycete–Liverwort symbioses, possibly pre-dating their evolution in the Ericales by some 150 million years.
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Liverworts to the rescue: an investigation of their efficacy as mycorrhizal inoculum for vascular plants
Functional Ecology, 2015Co-Authors: Jill Kowal, Silvia Pressel, Jeffrey G. Duckett, Martin I. BidartondoAbstract:Summary Pezoloma ericae (D.J. Read) Baral, a widespread mycorrhizal fungus of plants in the Ericales, is known to form intracellular associations with several families of leafy Liverworts (Schistochilaceae, Lepidoziaceae, Cephaloziaceae, Cephaloziellaceae) in vitro. The ecological significance of this link between vascular and non-vascular plants is unknown. Fungal symbionts were isolated from rhizoids of the leafy Liverworts Cephalozia connivens (Dicks.) Lindb. and C. bicuspidata (L.) Dum. (Cephaloziaceae), as well as from the hair roots of two dominant ericoid mycorrhiza-forming species of European heathlands, Erica tetralix (L.) and Calluna vulgaris (L.). Using pure cultures of P. ericae, we resynthesized Liverwort–fungus associations to use colonized Liverworts as inoculum which was applied to substrates supporting the growth of heather seedlings and cuttings. Effects were quantified using germination, rooting, plant colonization, plant survival under waterlogging stress and growth in height in experimental systems with and without Liverworts and/or fungi. Fungal symbionts growing from Liverwort rhizoids readily colonized the hair roots of ericaceous plants to form typical ericoid mycorrhizas. The presence of inoculum-bearing Liverworts led to significant increases in plant growth. Erica tetralix was more responsive to inoculation than C. vulgaris. Ericaceous cuttings rooted and survived more successfully when they were coplanted with previously colonized Liverwort stems. We demonstrate, under realistic ecological circumstances, that Liverworts can deliver mycorrhizal inoculum and improve the establishment of vascular plants. We propose that by providing sources of mycorrhizal inoculum, symbiotic non-vascular plants can contribute to the restoration of plant communities dominated by Ericales plants. This research leads to broader knowledge about the function of ericoid mycorrhizas in ecosystems.
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A novel ascomycetous endophytic association in the rhizoids of the leafy Liverwort family, Schistochilaceae (Jungermanniidae, Hepaticopsida).
American Journal of Botany, 2008Co-Authors: Silvia Pressel, Roberto Ligrone, Jeffrey G. Duckett, E. Christine DavisAbstract:Liverworts form diverse associations with endophytic fungi similar to mycorrhizas in vascular plants. Whereas the widespread occurrence of glomeromycotes in the basal Liverwort lineages is well documented, knowledge of the distribution of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes in derived thalloid and leafy clades is more fragmented. Our discovery that the ramifi ed and septate rhizoids of the Schistochilaceae, the sister group to all other ascomycete-containing Liverworts, are packed with fungal hyphae prompted this study on the effects of the fungi on rhizoid morphology, host specifi city, the cytology of the association, and a molecular analysis of the endophytes. Two species of Pachyschistochila and their fungi were grown axenically. Axenic rhizoids were unbranched and nonseptate. Reinfected with their own fungus and that from the other species, both Pachyschistochila species produced branched and septate rhizoids identical to those in nature. Woronin bodies and simple septa identifi ed the fungus as an ascomycete referable, according to phylogenetic analyses of ITS sequences, to the Rhizoscyphus ( Hymenoscyphus ) ericae aggregate, also found in other Liverwort – ascomycete associations and in mycorrhizas in the Ericales. Healthy hyphae and host cytoplasm suggest that the Schistochila – fungus association refl ects a balanced mutualistic relationship. The recent dating of the divergence of the Jungermanniales from the fungus-free Porellales in the Permian and the origins of the Schistochilaceae in the Triassic indicate that these associations in Liverworts predate the appearance of the Ericales.
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A novel ascomycetous endophytic association in the rhizoids of the leafy Liverwort family, Schistochilaceae (Jungermanniidae, Hepaticopsida).
American Journal of Botany, 2008Co-Authors: Silvia Pressel, Roberto Ligrone, Jeffrey G. Duckett, E. Christine DavisAbstract:Liverworts form diverse associations with endophytic fungi similar to mycorrhizas in vascular plants. Whereas the widespread occurrence of glomeromycotes in the basal Liverwort lineages is well documented, knowledge of the distribution of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes in derived thalloid and leafy clades is more fragmented. Our discovery that the ramifi ed and septate rhizoids of the Schistochilaceae, the sister group to all other ascomycete-containing Liverworts, are packed with fungal hyphae prompted this study on the effects of the fungi on rhizoid morphology, host specifi city, the cytology of the association, and a molecular analysis of the endophytes. Two species of Pachyschistochila and their fungi were grown axenically. Axenic rhizoids were unbranched and nonseptate. Reinfected with their own fungus and that from the other species, both Pachyschistochila species produced branched and septate rhizoids identical to those in nature. Woronin bodies and simple septa identifi ed the fungus as an ascomycete referable, according to phylogenetic analyses of ITS sequences, to the Rhizoscyphus ( Hymenoscyphus ) ericae aggregate, also found in other Liverwort – ascomycete associations and in mycorrhizas in the Ericales. Healthy hyphae and host cytoplasm suggest that the Schistochila – fungus association refl ects a balanced mutualistic relationship. The recent dating of the divergence of the Jungermanniales from the fungus-free Porellales in the Permian and the origins of the Schistochilaceae in the Triassic indicate that these associations in Liverworts predate the appearance of the Ericales.
Paul D. Bridge - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Sebacinales are associates of the leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa in the southern maritime Antarctic
Mycorrhiza, 2010Co-Authors: Kevin K. Newsham, Paul D. BridgeAbstract:The leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa , which is colonised by basidiomycete fungi in other biomes and which evidence suggests may be colonised by mycorrhizal fungi in Antarctica, was sampled from Léonie Island in the southern maritime Antarctic (67°36′ S, 68°21′ W). Microscopic examination of plants indicated that fungal hyphae colonised 78% of the rhizoids of the Liverwort, apparently by entering the tips of rhizoids prior to growing into their bases, where they formed hyphal coils. Extensive colonisation of stem medullary cells by hyphae was also observed. DNA was extracted from surface-sterilised Liverwort tissues and sequenced following nested PCR, using the primer set ITS1F/TW14, followed by a second round of amplification using the ITSSeb3/TW13 primer set. Neighbour-joining analyses showed that the sequences obtained nested in Sebacinales clade B as a 100% supported sister group to Sebacinales sequences from the leafy Liverworts Lophozia sudetica , L. incisa and Calypogeia muelleriana sampled from Europe. Direct PCR using the fungal specific primer set ITS1F/ITS4 similarly identified fungi belonging to Sebacinales clade B as the principal colonists of L. excisa tissues. These observations indicate the presence of a second mycothallus in Antarctica and support the previous suggestion that the Sebacinales has a wide geographical distribution.
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Sebacinales are associates of the leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa in the southern maritime Antarctic
Mycorrhiza, 2010Co-Authors: Kevin K. Newsham, Paul D. BridgeAbstract:The leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa , which is colonised by basidiomycete fungi in other biomes and which evidence suggests may be colonised by mycorrhizal fungi in Antarctica, was sampled from Léonie Island in the southern maritime Antarctic (67°36′ S, 68°21′ W). Microscopic examination of plants indicated that fungal hyphae colonised 78% of the rhizoids of the Liverwort, apparently by entering the tips of rhizoids prior to growing into their bases, where they formed hyphal coils. Extensive colonisation of stem medullary cells by hyphae was also observed. DNA was extracted from surface-sterilised Liverwort tissues and sequenced following nested PCR, using the primer set ITS1F/TW14, followed by a second round of amplification using the ITSSeb3/TW13 primer set. Neighbour-joining analyses showed that the sequences obtained nested in Sebacinales clade B as a 100% supported sister group to Sebacinales sequences from the leafy Liverworts Lophozia sudetica , L. incisa and Calypogeia muelleriana sampled from Europe. Direct PCR using the fungal specific primer set ITS1F/ITS4 similarly identified fungi belonging to Sebacinales clade B as the principal colonists of L. excisa tissues. These observations indicate the presence of a second mycothallus in Antarctica and support the previous suggestion that the Sebacinales has a wide geographical distribution.
E. Christine Davis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A novel ascomycetous endophytic association in the rhizoids of the leafy Liverwort family, Schistochilaceae (Jungermanniidae, Hepaticopsida).
American Journal of Botany, 2008Co-Authors: Silvia Pressel, Roberto Ligrone, Jeffrey G. Duckett, E. Christine DavisAbstract:Liverworts form diverse associations with endophytic fungi similar to mycorrhizas in vascular plants. Whereas the widespread occurrence of glomeromycotes in the basal Liverwort lineages is well documented, knowledge of the distribution of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes in derived thalloid and leafy clades is more fragmented. Our discovery that the ramifi ed and septate rhizoids of the Schistochilaceae, the sister group to all other ascomycete-containing Liverworts, are packed with fungal hyphae prompted this study on the effects of the fungi on rhizoid morphology, host specifi city, the cytology of the association, and a molecular analysis of the endophytes. Two species of Pachyschistochila and their fungi were grown axenically. Axenic rhizoids were unbranched and nonseptate. Reinfected with their own fungus and that from the other species, both Pachyschistochila species produced branched and septate rhizoids identical to those in nature. Woronin bodies and simple septa identifi ed the fungus as an ascomycete referable, according to phylogenetic analyses of ITS sequences, to the Rhizoscyphus ( Hymenoscyphus ) ericae aggregate, also found in other Liverwort – ascomycete associations and in mycorrhizas in the Ericales. Healthy hyphae and host cytoplasm suggest that the Schistochila – fungus association refl ects a balanced mutualistic relationship. The recent dating of the divergence of the Jungermanniales from the fungus-free Porellales in the Permian and the origins of the Schistochilaceae in the Triassic indicate that these associations in Liverworts predate the appearance of the Ericales.
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A novel ascomycetous endophytic association in the rhizoids of the leafy Liverwort family, Schistochilaceae (Jungermanniidae, Hepaticopsida).
American Journal of Botany, 2008Co-Authors: Silvia Pressel, Roberto Ligrone, Jeffrey G. Duckett, E. Christine DavisAbstract:Liverworts form diverse associations with endophytic fungi similar to mycorrhizas in vascular plants. Whereas the widespread occurrence of glomeromycotes in the basal Liverwort lineages is well documented, knowledge of the distribution of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes in derived thalloid and leafy clades is more fragmented. Our discovery that the ramifi ed and septate rhizoids of the Schistochilaceae, the sister group to all other ascomycete-containing Liverworts, are packed with fungal hyphae prompted this study on the effects of the fungi on rhizoid morphology, host specifi city, the cytology of the association, and a molecular analysis of the endophytes. Two species of Pachyschistochila and their fungi were grown axenically. Axenic rhizoids were unbranched and nonseptate. Reinfected with their own fungus and that from the other species, both Pachyschistochila species produced branched and septate rhizoids identical to those in nature. Woronin bodies and simple septa identifi ed the fungus as an ascomycete referable, according to phylogenetic analyses of ITS sequences, to the Rhizoscyphus ( Hymenoscyphus ) ericae aggregate, also found in other Liverwort – ascomycete associations and in mycorrhizas in the Ericales. Healthy hyphae and host cytoplasm suggest that the Schistochila – fungus association refl ects a balanced mutualistic relationship. The recent dating of the divergence of the Jungermanniales from the fungus-free Porellales in the Permian and the origins of the Schistochilaceae in the Triassic indicate that these associations in Liverworts predate the appearance of the Ericales.
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Endophytic Xylaria (Xylariaceae) among Liverworts and angiosperms: phylogenetics, distribution, and symbiosis
American Journal of Botany, 2003Co-Authors: E. Christine Davis, Joseph B. Franklin, A. Jonathan Shaw, Rytas VilgalysAbstract:Nuclear ribosomal 18S and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence data were used to identify endophytic fungi cultured from six species of Liverworts collected in Jamaica and North Carolina. Comparisons with other published fungal sequences and phylogenetic analyses yielded the following conclusions: (1) the endophytes belong to the ascomycete families Xylariaceae, Hypocreaceae, and Ophiostomataceae, and (2) Liverwort endophytes in the genus Xylaria are closely related to each other and to endophytes isolated from angiosperms in China, Puerto Rico, and Europe. Liverwort endophytes are expected to be foragers or endophytic specialists, although little is known about the role of these fungi in symbioses. Features that may indicate a mutualistic role for these endophytes are discussed.
Kevin K. Newsham - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Sebacinales are associates of the leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa in the southern maritime Antarctic
Mycorrhiza, 2010Co-Authors: Kevin K. Newsham, Paul D. BridgeAbstract:The leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa , which is colonised by basidiomycete fungi in other biomes and which evidence suggests may be colonised by mycorrhizal fungi in Antarctica, was sampled from Léonie Island in the southern maritime Antarctic (67°36′ S, 68°21′ W). Microscopic examination of plants indicated that fungal hyphae colonised 78% of the rhizoids of the Liverwort, apparently by entering the tips of rhizoids prior to growing into their bases, where they formed hyphal coils. Extensive colonisation of stem medullary cells by hyphae was also observed. DNA was extracted from surface-sterilised Liverwort tissues and sequenced following nested PCR, using the primer set ITS1F/TW14, followed by a second round of amplification using the ITSSeb3/TW13 primer set. Neighbour-joining analyses showed that the sequences obtained nested in Sebacinales clade B as a 100% supported sister group to Sebacinales sequences from the leafy Liverworts Lophozia sudetica , L. incisa and Calypogeia muelleriana sampled from Europe. Direct PCR using the fungal specific primer set ITS1F/ITS4 similarly identified fungi belonging to Sebacinales clade B as the principal colonists of L. excisa tissues. These observations indicate the presence of a second mycothallus in Antarctica and support the previous suggestion that the Sebacinales has a wide geographical distribution.
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Sebacinales are associates of the leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa in the southern maritime Antarctic
Mycorrhiza, 2010Co-Authors: Kevin K. Newsham, Paul D. BridgeAbstract:The leafy Liverwort Lophozia excisa , which is colonised by basidiomycete fungi in other biomes and which evidence suggests may be colonised by mycorrhizal fungi in Antarctica, was sampled from Léonie Island in the southern maritime Antarctic (67°36′ S, 68°21′ W). Microscopic examination of plants indicated that fungal hyphae colonised 78% of the rhizoids of the Liverwort, apparently by entering the tips of rhizoids prior to growing into their bases, where they formed hyphal coils. Extensive colonisation of stem medullary cells by hyphae was also observed. DNA was extracted from surface-sterilised Liverwort tissues and sequenced following nested PCR, using the primer set ITS1F/TW14, followed by a second round of amplification using the ITSSeb3/TW13 primer set. Neighbour-joining analyses showed that the sequences obtained nested in Sebacinales clade B as a 100% supported sister group to Sebacinales sequences from the leafy Liverworts Lophozia sudetica , L. incisa and Calypogeia muelleriana sampled from Europe. Direct PCR using the fungal specific primer set ITS1F/ITS4 similarly identified fungi belonging to Sebacinales clade B as the principal colonists of L. excisa tissues. These observations indicate the presence of a second mycothallus in Antarctica and support the previous suggestion that the Sebacinales has a wide geographical distribution.
