《真菌学》课件mushroom2Endophytes Mutualistic Symbionts教程文件.pptxVIP

Endophytes: Mutualistic SymbiontsEndophytes are primarily benevolent, nonmycorrhizal fungi that partner with many plants, from grasses to trees. Their mycelia thread between cell walls but don’t enter them, enhancing a plant’s growth and ability to absorb nutrients, while staving off parasites, infections, and predation frominsects, other fungi, and herbivores.Endophytic fungi are especially skilled at producing specialized toxic compounds. Endophytes in large crabgrass, for example, appear to produce toxins that kill fire ants, and those in grasses such as the darnel weed (Lolium temulentum) cause sleepiness in cattle and horses, a fact long known to ranchers in Central America. Endophytes, which were once thought to be pathogens, are increasingly viewed asengaging the plant in a mutually beneficial relationship.In a 2003 experiment in Panama, researchersfound that when endophyte-free leaves from the chocolate-producing cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) were inoculated with endophytes, leaf necrosis and mortality declined threefold, suggesting a biodefensive effect is possible against other pathogens.According to one estimate, more than 10,000 spores of fungi land on each leaf per day.Spores from endophytes compete with many other free-flying fungal spores. Amidst such competition, friendly fungi taking up residence is actually an asset to plants otherwise subject to pathogenic assault.Wheat farmers benefit from the endophyte Piriformospora indica.This species is a root-based endophyte that promotes the growth of wheat shoots and roots and is capable of increasing leaf and seed production by more than 30 percent while shielding roots from infection by pathogenic microbes.Furthermore, seedlings paired with this mutualist successfully germinated 95 percent of thetime, compared to only 57 percent for seedlings without this species.Henson’s research showed that grasses inoculated with this endophyte survived temporary exposure to extraordinarilyhigh temperatures—158°F or 7