Characterization of root-associated fungal endophytes in cereal grains, and their progenitors

Fungal endophytes can play a determining role in host plant performance. I aimed at characterizing root-associated fungal endophytes in cereal grains and their progenitors, employing both culture-dependent and -independent methods to identify endophytes which successfully colonized greenhouse-grown host plants.;This study revealed soil as a prominent factor influencing the composition of microfungal communities inhabiting the roots of maize and its conspecific progenitor, teosinte. Similar results were found in wheat and its progenitor. Multidimensional comparisons of Morisita-Horn similarity values of fungal colonists of various host plant taxa and soil medium treatment configurations indicated that soil plays a primary role in root fungal colonization; a secondary effect was plant host identity, even when the plant host is a conspecific. Future studies focused on characterizing root endophytes in other cereal grains, and studying effects of various biotic and abiotic factors on fungal colonization, can ultimately contribute to increasing crop productivity.;Keywords: Wheat, Maize, Endophyte, Hypocreales, Fusarium spp., Pleosporales, Alternaria spp., microfungal communities, Paraphaeosphaeria spp., progenitor.