Battling the biotypes of balsam: the biological control of Impatiens glandulifera using the rust fungus Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae in GB

Pollard, Kathryn M.; Varia, Sonal; Seier, M. K.; Ellison, C. A.

doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2021.03.005

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…We consistently found that plants were smaller when colonised by the Symbio AM fungi and the rust, rather than the rust alone. However, the generality of this result needs to be tested by examining the interactions between AM fungi and different I. glandulifera biotypes and also the different rust strains that have been introduced (Pollard et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Throughout these studies, the rust fungus had a consistent negative effect on plant growth, as one would expect from a biological control agent (Pollard et al, 2022). However, in field conditions, the efficacy of the rust has been patchy, due to the existence of I. glandulifera biotypes with varying degrees of pathogen resistance (Pollard et al, 2021). Our results suggest that AM fungi could offer a potential aid to reduce such resistance, by weakening the plant and allowing the rust fungus to exert a greater effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ellison, L. Kiss & H.C. Evans has been introduced in an attempt to control it (Pollard et al, 2022). However, success has been patchy, due to there being different biotypes of the weed (Pollard et al, 2021) as well as a suggestion of antagonistic interactions between the rust and other fungi in the leaves (Currie et al, 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Three‐way fungal interactions affect the potential biological control of Himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera

et al. 2023

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Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is one of the most invasive weeds across Europe. The rust fungus, Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae has been introduced as a biological control agent, but success has been patchy. Here, we investigated whether mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi can affect rust efficacy and plant growth. Over three experiments, we found that AM fungi and the rust alone or together consistently reduced plant growth, but this depended on the identity of species in the AM inoculum. Meanwhile, AM fungi increased infection frequency of the endophyte Colletotrichum acutatum. Rust inoculation had no detrimental effects on mycorrhizal colonisation or C. acutatum infection, but the latter two fungi reduced rust sporulation. However, plant size was reduced when all three fungal types were present, suggesting that a combined fungal inoculum offers a promising approach for the control of this weed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Three‐way fungal interactions affect the potential biological control of Himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera

et al. 2023

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“…Recently, it has been found that endophytes infecting I. glandulifera can afford some protection against the pathogenic fungus Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae introduced as a biological control agent [ 31 ], which may partly explain why the success of this introduction in the UK has been inconsistent [ 32 ]. These endophytes can also afford protection against antagonists in a wide range of plants [ 33 ]; however, whether the presence of any one plant species can affect the endophyte composition of a neighbour is unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Invasive Plant Impatiens glandulifera Manipulates Microbial Associates of Competing Native Species

Razak

Gange

Sutton

et al. 2023

Plants

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Impatiens glandulifera or Himalayan balsam is one of the most invasive weeds across Europe and can seriously reduce native plant diversity. It often forms continuous monocultures along river banks, but the mechanisms of this arrested succession are largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on balsam competitive ability with two native plant species, Plantago lanceolata and Holcus lanatus. We also studied how competition with Impatiens affects colonisation by foliar endophytes and mycorrhizas of two other co-occurring native species, Urtica dioica and Cirsium arvense. Mycorrhizal colonisation reduced balsam growth when the plants were grown singly, but appeared to have little effect when balsam experienced intra- or interspecific competition. Competition with balsam together with the addition of mycorrhizas had no effect on P. lanceolata biomass, suggesting that the fungi were beneficial to the latter, enabling it to compete effectively with balsam. However, this was not so with H. lanatus. Meanwhile, competition with Impatiens reduced endophyte numbers and mycorrhizal colonisation in U. dioica and C. arvense, leading to enhanced susceptibility of these plants to insect attack. Himalayan balsam is known to degrade soil fungal populations and can also reduce foliar beneficial fungi in neighbouring plants. This allows the plant to compete effectively with itself and other native species, thereby leading to the continuous monocultures.

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“…glanduliferae was first released in 2014 [ 33 ]. Success of the pathogen has been patchy, due to variable biotype resistance in the weed and the presence of endophyte fungi, some of which are antagonistic towards the rust [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multitrophic Interactions Between Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Foliar Endophytic Fungi and Aphids

Razak

Gange

2021

Microb Ecol

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Almost all living plants can be simultaneously colonised by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the roots and endophytes in the shoots, while also being attacked by insect herbivores. However, to date, no study has ever examined the multitrophic interactions between these two different fungal groups and insects on any species of forb. Here, we examined the effects of two commercial species mixtures of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and two foliar endophytes (Colletotrichum acutatum and Cladosporium oxysporum) on the growth of an invasive weed, Impatiens glandulifera, and the aphids that attack it. AMF reduced plant biomass, which was most evident when C. oxysporum was inoculated. Mycorrhizal fungi had few effects on aphids, and these depended on the identity of the endophytes present. Meanwhile, endophytes tended to increase aphid numbers, but this depended on the identity of the AMF inoculum. Throughout, there were differences in the responses of the plant to the two mycorrhizal mixtures, demonstrating clear AMF specificity in this plant. These specific effects were also strongly affected by the endophytes, with a greater number of interactions found between the AMF and endophytes than between the endophytes themselves. In particular, AMF reduced infection levels by the endophytes, while some endophyte inoculations reduced mycorrhizal colonisation. We suggest that both AMF and endophytes could play an important part in future biological control programmes of weeds, but further multitrophic experiments are required to unravel the complexity of interactions between spatially separated parts of the plant microbiome.

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Battling the biotypes of balsam: the biological control of Impatiens glandulifera using the rust fungus Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae in GB

Cited by 10 publications

References 35 publications

Three‐way fungal interactions affect the potential biological control of Himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera

Three‐way fungal interactions affect the potential biological control of Himalayan balsam, Impatiens glandulifera

The Invasive Plant Impatiens glandulifera Manipulates Microbial Associates of Competing Native Species

Multitrophic Interactions Between Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Foliar Endophytic Fungi and Aphids

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