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Host generalists dominate fungal communities associated with seeds of four neotropical pioneer species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2008

Courtney G. Kluger ,
James W. Dalling ,
Rachel E. Gallery ,
Evelyn Sanchez ,
Cheyenne Weeks-Galindo  and
A. Elizabeth Arnold
Courtney G. Kluger
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
James W. Dalling
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Rachel E. Gallery
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Evelyn Sanchez
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Panama
Cheyenne Weeks-Galindo
Affiliation:
Pima College, Tucson, AZ 85745, USA
A. Elizabeth Arnold*
Affiliation:
Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: Arnold@ag.arizona.edu
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Extract

Most ecological studies of fungi associated with tropical plants have focused on the rhizosphere or phyllosphere of seedlings, saplings and adult trees (Augspurger 1983, 1984; Bell et al. 2006, Gilbert 2002, Gilbert et al. 2002, Husband et al. 2002, Kiers et al. 2000, Mangan et al. 2004). However, fungi also infect the seeds of tropical trees, reducing seed survival and potentially affecting adult distributions (Gallery et al. 2007a, b). Fungicide experiments have shown that fungal and oomyceteous pathogens are the major cause of seed mortality in the soil for a variety of tropical pioneers (Dalling et al. 1998, Gallery et al. 2007b, Murray & Garcia 2002), which depend on recruitment from seed banks to colonize gaps and other disturbances in mature forest (Alvarez-Buylla & Martinez-Ramos 1990, Dalling et al. 1997, Hall & Swaine 1980). Persistence in the soil prolongs exposure of seeds to infection by soil-borne fungi and is especially problematic for small-seeded species with thin fruit or seed walls (Baskin & Baskin 1998, Blaney & Kotanen 2002, Crist & Friese 1993). At present little is known about the host affinity of fungi associated with seeds of tropical trees, and consequently, whether seed-infecting fungi influence plant species coexistence through differential infection of, or effects on, potential hosts.

Keywords

AscomycotaBarro Colorado IslandCecropiadiversityendophyteshost specificitypioneer treesseed-associated fungi
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , May 2008 , pp. 351 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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References

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