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Comparative analysis of the biodiversity of fungal endophytes in insect-induced galls and surrounding foliar tissue

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Abstract

Insect-induced galls are abnormal plant growths that can provide food and shelter to their inhabitants, resulting in stressed plant tissue that may alter the conditions for the colonization or proliferation of endophytic fungi. We investigated the effect gall formation has on fungal endophyte communities and diversity. Using three closely-related gall-forming aphid species that specialize on poplars, we characterized fungal endophyte diversity in galls and surrounding petiole and leaf lamina tissue. A total of 516 fungal endophyte samples were isolated from 272 tissue samples (32 leaves, 31 petioles, and 209 galls), resulting in 23 distinct morphotypes. Despite sharing a common host plant and often forming spatially contiguous galls, the endophyte profiles within the galls of each aphid species were distinct, not only from the galls of the other species, but also from surrounding plant tissue. These results suggest that insect galls can affect the composition of fungal endophyte species in plant tissues, by altering either the colonization or proliferation of their endophytic mycobiota. Likewise, fungal endophytes may be important in the ecology and evolution of insect galls.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a National Science Foundation grant #IOS-1147033 and a Vanderbilt University Central Discovery Grant awarded to PA. We are grateful to members of the Rokas lab, specifically John Gibbons and Jason Slot, for their help with the fungal cultures and identification. We would also like to acknowledge Hayden Hill for his help upkeeping the fungal cultures and Cassidy Cobbs for her feedback on the experimental design and data analysis. Lastly, we cannot forget to thank the reviewers of this paper, who provided us with helpful feedback and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA

    Sarah P. Lawson & Patrick Abbot

  2. Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 E. 3rd St., Bloomington, IN, 47405-7005, USA

    Natalie Christian

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  1. Sarah P. Lawson
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Correspondence to Patrick Abbot.

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Lawson, S.P., Christian, N. & Abbot, P. Comparative analysis of the biodiversity of fungal endophytes in insect-induced galls and surrounding foliar tissue. Fungal Diversity 66, 89–97 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-013-0268-z

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