In planta visualization of foliar fungal endophytes using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
EMSL Project ID
49738
Abstract
Foliar fungal endophytes are one of the most speciose and phylogenetically diverse guilds of symbioticfungi, living cryptically and ubiquitously in the photosynthetic tissues of every major plant lineage in the
world. Yet, whether and how they play a significant role in ecosystem processes remain a considerable
gap in our understanding of their life history. A growing body of literature suggests that these fungi are
pioneer decomposers that either decompose their host litter themselves or have priority effects on
subsequently colonizing saprophytic microbial communities. The enzymatic activity of endophytic fungi during litter senescence is an unexplored stage of rapid colonization and conversion of plant tissue matter for fruiting body development. The Objective of this rapid access project is to collect light and confocal microscopy images of FISH-stained endophytes from the intercellular cross-sections of senescing and decomposing pine needles during fruiting body development and simultaneously assess lignin and cellulose composition in the surrounding plant material. These images will provide a proof-of-principle experiment to propose studies exploring the interaction, transcriptomic, and metabolomic activity of endophytic fungi during litter decomposition.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2017-07-24
End Date
2017-09-23
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)