Many recent studies have demonstrated that non-pathogenic fungi within plant microbiomes, i.e., endophytes ("endo" = within, "phyte" = plant), can significantly modify the expression of host plant disease. The rapid pace of advancement in endophyte ecology warrants a pause to synthesize our understanding of endophyte disease modification and to discuss future research directions. We reviewed recent literature on fungal endophyte disease modification, and here report on several emergent themes: (1) Fungal endophyte effects on plant disease span the full spectrum from pathogen antagonism to pathogen facilitation, with pathogen antagonism most commonly reported. (2) Agricultural plant pathosystems are the focus of research on endophyte disease modification. (3) A taxonomically diverse group of fungal endophytes can influence plant disease severity. And (4) Fungal endophyte effects on plant disease severity are context-dependent. Our review highlights the importance of fungal endophytes for plant disease across a broad range of plant pathosystems, yet simultaneously reveals that complexity within plant microbiomes presents a significant challenge to disentangling the biotic environmental factors affecting plant disease severity. Manipulative studies integrating eco-evolutionary approaches with emerging molecular tools will be poised to elucidate the functional importance of endophytes in natural plant pathosystems that are fundamental to biodiversity and conservation.

The plant microbiome may be bottlenecked at the level of endophytes of individual seeds. Strong defense of developing seeds is predicted by optimal defense theory, and we have experimentally demonstrated exclusionary interactions among endophytic microbes infecting individual seeds of Centaurea stoebe. Having found a single, PDA-culturable microbe per seed or none in an exploratory study with Centaurea stoebe, we completed a more extensive survey of an additional 98 plant species representing 39 families. We again found that individual, surface-sterilized seeds of all species hosted only one PDA-culturable bacterial or fungal endophyte per seed, or none. PDA-unculturables were not determined but we expect them to also be bottlenecked in individual seeds, as they too should be governed by exclusionary interactions. If the bottleneck were confirmed with high-throughput sequencing of individual seeds then it would make sense to further investigate the Primary Symbiont Hypothesis (PSH). This includes the prediction that primary symbionts (i.e., the winners of the exclusionary battles among seed endophytes) have strong effects on seedlings depending on symbiont identity.

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Poor seedling performance and reduced seed emergence are often ascribed to known pathogens that cause low seedling recruitment and poor seed emergence in forest nurseries and regeneration plantings. On the other hand, foliar endophytes are often overlooked as a source of poor emergence or tree seedling disease. Here, we show that an endophytic fungus common to the foliar microbiome of Pinus ponderosa acts as a cryptic pathogen in delaying emergence. In a series of experiments, we inoculated seed of P. ponderosa with a suspension of Sydowia polyspora 12 h prior to sowing. S. polyspora reduced seed emergence of its host, P. ponderosa, by as much as 30%. A tetrazolium chloride viability assay showed that S. polyspora reduces emergence by preventing germination; seed remained viable. In sum, pathogens affecting tree seed emergence and seedling recruitment may be endophytic as well as in seed and soil and deserve greater attention in studies of natural regeneration.