Closely related species are expected to have similar functional traits due to shared ancestry and phylogenetic inertia. However, few tests of this hypothesis are available for plant-associated fungal symbionts. Fungal leaf endophytes occur in all land plants and can protect their host plant from disease by a variety of mechanisms, including by parasitizing pathogens (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe composition of host-associated microbiomes can have important consequences for host health and fitness [1-3]. Yet we still lack understanding of many fundamental processes that determine microbiome composition [4, 5]. There is mounting evidence that historical contingency during microbiome assembly may overshadow more deterministic processes, such as the selective filters imposed by host traits [6-8].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorldwide, native species increasingly contend with the interacting stressors of habitat fragmentation and invasive species, yet their combined effects have rarely been examined. Direct negative effects of invasive omnivores are well documented, but the indirect effects of resource competition or those caused by predator avoidance are unknown. Here we isolated and examined the independent and interactive effects of invasive omnivorous Black rats (Rattus rattus) and forest fragment size on the interactions between avian predators and their arthropod prey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-throughput sequencing of taxon-specific loci, or DNA metabarcoding, has become an invaluable tool for investigating the composition of plant-associated fungal communities and for elucidating plant-fungal interactions. While sequencing fungal communities has become routine, there remain numerous potential sources of systematic error that can introduce biases and compromise metabarcoding data. This chapter presents a protocol for DNA metabarcoding of the leaf mycobiome based on current best practices to minimize errors through careful laboratory practices and validation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoth top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (resource availability) forces can determine the strength of priority effects, or the effects of species arrival history on the structure and function of ecological communities, but their combined influences remain unresolved. To test for such influences, we assembled experimental communities of wood-decomposing fungi using a factorial manipulation of fungivore (Folsomia candida) presence, nitrogen availability, and fungal assembly history. We found interactive effects of all three factors on fungal species composition and wood decomposition 1 year after the fungi were introduced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHabitat fragmentation is well known to affect plant and animal diversity as a result of reduced habitat area and connectivity, but its effects on microorganisms are poorly understood. Using high-throughput sequencing of two regions of the rRNA gene, we studied the effects of forest area and connectivity on the diversity and composition of fungi associated with the roots of the dominant tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, in a lava-fragmented landscape on the Island of Hawaii. We found that local fungal diversity increased with forest area, whereas fungal species composition was correlated with fragment connectivity.
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