The plasticity of fungal interactions

Wrzosek, Marta; Ruszkiewicz‐Michalska, Małgorzata; Sikora, Katarzyna; Damszel, Marta; Sierota, Z.

doi:10.1007/s11557-016-1257-x

Cited by 25 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…This confirms the thesis that without computed tomographic assessment of the interior of the wood, trees infected with the pathogen can grow unproductively for decades as commodities in managed spruce stands [19,37,104,105]. Another question is their ecological role in the ecosystem, where the pathogen and the resulting decomposition of wood during forest succession can provide suitable opportunities for the development of other organisms such as other fungi, birds, bats, insects, and squirrels [106][107][108][109][110].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Fungi Occurring in Norway Spruce Wood Decayed by Heterobasidion parviporum in Puszcza Borecka Stands (Northeastern Poland)

Szczepkowski

Kowalczuk²,

Sikora

et al. 2022

Forests

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In many spruce stands, trees are frequently attacked by the pathogen Heterobasidion parviporum, albeit without visible symptoms in the crown. In the present work, the results of the presence of stem rot, assessed by PICUS Sonic Tomography, and the fungal biota on trees and stumps in eight plots in the Puszcza Borecka Forest are described. The plots were located in stands on original forest soil (4) and on post-agricultural soil (4), where around a stump with H. parviporum symptoms (signs of internal rot and basidiocarps), 30 trees were selected and examined for internal rot. Wood samples were collected from two selected trees for fungal molecular analysis. A total of 79 fungal taxa were found, including 57 taxa in plots on post-agricultural soil and 45 on forest soil. There were 395 fungal records on stumps and 22 records on trees, therein, from the inner parts of felled trunks. Significant differences in the Chao-1 diversity index indicate that the origin of the soil—post-agricultural or forest soil—influenced the alpha diversity of the fungal communities in the forests studied. The values of the Shannon and Simpson indices show that the two communities were similar in terms of species numbers. The presence of basidiomata of H. parviporum and two species of Armillaria (mainly A. cepistipes) in samples on all plots is striking, although Armillaria spp. was detected more frequently. Most of the species identified were typical saprotrophs, although rare species were also found, such as Entoloma byssisedum, Onnia tomentosa, Physisporinus vitreus, Postia ptychogaster, and Ramaria apiculata. The presence of H. parviporum in the inner woody parts was confirmed by PCR analysis, and decay was detected even up to a stem height of 6 m. Armillaria was the dominant genus in the studied stands and plays a significant and underestimated role in heartwood decay of old spruce trees in Puszcza Borecka Forest.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Fungi Occurring in Norway Spruce Wood Decayed by Heterobasidion parviporum in Puszcza Borecka Stands (Northeastern Poland)

Szczepkowski

Kowalczuk²,

Sikora

et al. 2022

Forests

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“…Genera of the Hypocreaceae have morphological features that differentiate them from one another (Jaklitsch et al 2008 ; Jaklitsch 2009 ; Põldmaa 2011 ). Due to the morphological plasticity of fungi (Slepecky and Starmer 2009 ; Wrzosek et al 2017 ), variations in the shades of colours expressed by these organisms are highly expected. Nonetheless, the prevalent brown colour of Escovopsis colonies is a unique feature of this genus within the family.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungi inhabiting attine ant colonies: reassessment of the genus Escovopsis and description of Luteomyces and Sympodiorosea gens. nov.

et al. 2021

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Escovopsis is a diverse group of fungi, which are considered specialized parasites of the fungal cultivars of fungus-growing ants. The lack of a suitable taxonomic framework and phylogenetic inconsistencies have long hampered Escovopsis research. The aim of this study is to reassess the genus Escovopsis using a taxonomic approach and a comprehensive multilocus phylogenetic analysis, in order to set the basis of the genus systematics and the stage for future Escovopsis research. Our results support the separation of Escovopsis into three distinct genera. In light of this, we redefine Escovopsis as a monophyletic clade whose main feature is to form terminal vesicles on conidiophores. Consequently, E. kreiselii and E. trichodermoides were recombined into two new genera, Sympodiorosea and Luteomyces, as S. kreiselii and L. trichodermoides, respectively. This study expands our understanding of the systematics of Escovopsis and related genera, thereby facilitating future research on the evolutionary history, taxonomic diversity, and ecological roles of these inhabitants of the attine ant colonies.

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“…Unfortunately, this fact made it difficult to describe new species of the parasite. Studies showed that the expressed phenotypic characters (phenotypic plasticity) of fungi are directly influenced by growth conditions (Slepecky and Starmer 2009, Sharma and Pandey 2010, Wrzosek et al 2017, Kim et al 2017). As the morphological plasticity of Escovopsis species is still poorly understood, the standardisation of cultivation conditions is imperative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More pieces to a huge puzzle: Two new Escovopsis species from fungus gardens of attine ants

Montoya

Martiarena

Polezel

et al. 2019

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Escovopsis (Ascomycota: Hypocreales, Hypocreaceae) is the only known parasite of the mutualistic fungi cultivated by fungus-growing ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini: Attina, the “attines”). Despite its ecological role, the taxonomy and systematics of Escovopsis have been poorly addressed. Here, based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses with three molecular markers (internal transcribed spacer, large subunit ribosomal RNA and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha), we describe Escovopsisclavatus and E.multiformis as new species isolated from fungus gardens of Apterostigma ant species. Our analysis shows that E.clavatus and E.multiformis belong to the most derived Escovopsis clade, whose main character is the presence of conidiophores with vesicles. Nevertheless, the most outstanding feature of both new species is the presence of a swollen region in the central hypha of the conidiophore named swollen cell, which is absent in all previously described Escovopsis species. The less derived Escovopsis clades lack vesicles and their phylogenetic position within the Hypocreaceae still remains unclear. Considering the high genetic diversity in Escovopsis, the description of these new species adds barely two pieces to a huge taxonomic puzzle; however, this discovery is an important piece for building the systematics of this group of fungi.

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The plasticity of fungal interactions

Cited by 25 publications

References 80 publications

Fungi Occurring in Norway Spruce Wood Decayed by Heterobasidion parviporum in Puszcza Borecka Stands (Northeastern Poland)

Fungi Occurring in Norway Spruce Wood Decayed by Heterobasidion parviporum in Puszcza Borecka Stands (Northeastern Poland)

Fungi inhabiting attine ant colonies: reassessment of the genus Escovopsis and description of Luteomyces and Sympodiorosea gens. nov.

More pieces to a huge puzzle: Two new Escovopsis species from fungus gardens of attine ants

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