How and when fungal endophytes can eliminate the plant growth–defence trade-off: mechanistic perspectives

A central paradigm in plant biology is that there is a trade-off between growth and defence against biotic stresses (Herms & Mattson, 1992; Lind et al., 2013; Karasov et al., 2017; Zust & € Agrawal, 2017; Monson et al., 2022). This paradigm is based on recurrent observations that increased production of chemical defences is associated with compromised plant growth, and it provides obvious limits to increasing the productivity of plants that must also resist pests and pathogens (Ballare & Austin, 2019; Ha et al., 2021; Sestari & Campos, 2021).We have recently challenged this paradigm by proposing that fungal endophytes can simultaneously increase plant growth and defence against biotic stresses (Fig. 1) (Bastıas et al., 2021).Fil: Bastías, Daniel A.. Grasslands Research Centre; Nueva ZelandaFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Johnson, Richard D.. Grasslands Research Centre; Nueva ZelandaFil: Gianoli, Ernesto. Universidad de La Serena; Chil

ANPP and carrying capacity estimation through remote sensing data at the ranch level resolution in the Flooding Pampas

En sistemas de pastoreo extensivo, la productividad primaria neta aérea, PPNA, representa el principal determinante de la capacidad de carga. A escala de paisaje, existe un limitado conocimiento sobre la variación espacial y temporal de la PPNA. A partir de información novedosa provista por satélites se caracterizó la dinámica mensual de la PPNA para el período 2000-2006, cada 5,3 ha en 1000 ha en el centro de la Pampa Deprimida. Como resultado, se obtuvo una clasificación donde se diferenciaron 4 unidades funcionales. En ellas, la PPNA anual media varió entre los 6700 y 7600 kg MS ha -1 año -1, y el coeficiente de variación interanual entre 12 y 19%. En un año donde la precipitación fue un 25% menor respecto al promedio, la PPNA disminuyó en promedio un 23% dentro del área evaluada. En cambio, en un año donde la precipitación fue un 50% mayor respecto al promedio, la PPNA aumentó un 19%. Contar con este tipo de información permitió estimar la variación entre años en la capacidad de carga. En términos absolutos, la capacidad de carga varió entre 0,62 y 1,20 vacas ha -1, esto significa un cambio del 30% por encima o por debajo del valor correspondiente a un año con precipitaciones promedio.ANPP determines the carrying capacity of extensive cow-calf operation systems, like those of the Flooding Pampas. Management decisions are made at the landscape scale, where there is a limited knowledge of ANPP spatial and temporal variation. Relative novel satellite data, gave us the opportunity to describe monthly ANPP every 5.3 ha, in a 1000 ha area, for the 2000-2006 period. As a result, a 4 functional unit classification was obtained. ANPP varied between 6700 and 7600 kg DM ha year , with an inter-annual variation between 12 and 19%. When -1 -1 precipitations were 25% less than average, ANPP decreased a 23%. On the other hand, when precipitations were 50% higher than average, ANPP increased only a 19%. With ANPP data, carrying capacity was estimated for each functional unit. Considering contrasting years of precipitation, the average variation was between 0,62 and 1,20 cows ha-1.Fil: Irisarri, Jorge Gonzalo Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas A la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Produccion Animal. Cátedra de Forrajicultura; ArgentinaFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas A la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Clavijo, Maria del Pilar. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Produccion Animal. Catedra de Forrajicultura; ArgentinaFil: Durante, Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Sosa, Pedro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Produccion Animal. Catedra de Forrajicultura; Argentin

Ozone Exposure of a Weed Community Produces Adaptive Changes in Seed Populations of Spergula arvensis

Tropospheric ozone is one of the major drivers of global change. This stress factor alters plant growth and development. Ozone could act as a selection pressure on species communities composition, but also on population genetic background, thus affecting life history traits. Our objective was to evaluate the consequences of prolonged ozone exposure of a weed community on phenotypic traits of Spergula arvensis linked to persistence. Specifically, we predicted that the selection pressure exerted by high ozone concentrations as well as the concomitant changes in the weed community would drive population adaptive changes which will be reflected on seed germination, dormancy and longevity. In order to test seed viability and dormancy level, we conducted germination experiments for which we used seeds produced by S. arvensis plants grown within a weed community exposed to three ozone treatments during four years (0, 90 and 120 ppb). We also performed a soil seed bank experiment to test seed longevity with seeds coming from both the four-year ozone exposure experiment and from a short-term treatment conducted at ambient and added ozone concentrations. We found that prolonged ozone exposure produced changes in seed germination, dormancy and longevity, resulting in three S. arvensis populations. Seeds from the 90 ppb ozone selection treatment had the highest level of germination when stored at 75% RH and 25 °C and then scarified. These seeds showed the lowest dormancy level when being subjected to 5 ºC/5% RH and 25 ºC/75% followed by 5% RH storage conditions. Furthermore, ozone exposure increased seed persistence in the soil through a maternal effect. Given that tropospheric ozone is an important pollutant in rural areas, changes in seed traits due to ozone exposure could increase weed persistence in fields, thus affecting weed-crop interactions, which could ultimately reduce crop production.Fil: Landesmann, Jennifer Brenda. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnol.conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Invest.en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente;Fil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto D/inv.fisiologicas y Eco.vinculadas A L/agric;Fil: Martinez Ghersa, M. Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto D/inv.fisiologicas y Eco.vinculadas A L/agric;Fil: Ghersa, Claudio Marco. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Pque. Centenario. Instituto D/inv.fisiologicas y Eco.vinculadas A L/agric

A Systematic Review on the Effects of Epichloë Fungal Endophytes on Drought Tolerance in Cool-Season Grasses

Symptomless fungal endophytes in the genus Epichloë are repeatedly mentioned to increase tolerance of cool-season grasses to a wide range of environmental stress factors, mainly drought. However, the generality of this idea is challenged because (i) most studies have been conducted on two economically important forage grasses {tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.) Dumort] and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)}, (ii) endophyte-mediated mechanisms and effects on plant responses to drought have shown to be highly variable across species, and that (iii) symbiosis incidence in plant populations occurring in extremely arid environments is usually low. We question this idea by reviewing the existing information about Epichloë fungal endophyte effects on drought tolerance in cool-season grasses. We combined standard review, vote counting, and calculation of effect sizes to synthesize the literature, identify information gaps, and guide future research. The total number of studies was higher for domesticated than for wild species, a ratio that was balanced when papers with data quality for effect size calculus were considered. After the drought, endophyte-infected plants accumulated more aboveground and belowground biomass than non-infected counterparts, while no effect on tillering was observed. However, these effects remained significant for wild (even on tillering) but not for domesticated species. Interestingly, despite the continuous effort in determining physiological mechanisms behind the endophyte effects, no studies evaluated plant fecundity as a measure of ecological fitness nor vital rates (such as survival) as to escalate individual-level variables to population. Together with the high variability in results, our work shows that generalizing a positive effect of fungal endophytes in plant tolerance to drought may be misleading. Future studies combining field surveys with manipulative experiments would allow us to unravel the role of fungal endophytes in plant adaptation by considering the evolutionary history of species and populations to the different ecological contexts.Fil: Dedcunta, Facundo Alcides. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Luis Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Malinowski, Dariusz P.. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Molina Montenegro, Marco A.. Universidad de Talca; Chile. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Talca; Chil

Antarctic root endophytes improve physiological performance and yield in crops under salt stress by enhanced energy production and Na+ sequestration

Molina Montenegro, Marco A. Universidad de Talca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas. Campus Talca, Chile.Acuña Rodríguez, Ian S. Universidad de Talca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas. Campus Talca, Chile.Torres Díaz, Cristian. Universidad del Bío-Bío. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas. Grupo de Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (BCG). Chillán, Chile.Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA). Buenos Aires, Argentina.Dreyer, Ingo. Universidad de Talca. Facultad de Ingeniería. Centro de Bioinformática y Simulación Molecular (CBSM). Campus Talca, Chile.10Climatic change is pointed as one of the major challenges for global food security. Based on current models of climate change, reduction in precipitations and in turn, increase in the soil salinity will be a sharp constraint for crops productivity worldwide. In this context, root fungi appear as a new strategy to improve plant ecophysiological performance and crop yield under abiotic stress. In this study, we evaluated the impact of the two fungal endophytes Penicillium brevicompactum and P. chrysogenum isolated from Antarctic plants on nutrients and Na+ contents, net photosynthesis, water use efficiency, yield and survival in tomato and lettuce, facing salinity stress conditions. Inoculation of plant roots with fungal endophytes resulted in greater fresh and dry biomass production, and an enhanced survival rate under salt conditions. Inoculation of plants with the fungal endophytes was related with a higher up/down-regulation of ion homeostasis by enhanced expression of the NHX1 gene. The two endophytes diminished the effects of salt stress in tomato and lettuce, provoked a higher efficiency in photosynthetic energy production and an improved sequestration of Na+ in vacuoles is suggested by the upregulating of the expression of vacuolar NHX1 Na+/H+ antiporters. Promoting plant-beneficial interactions with root symbionts appears to be an environmentally friendly strategy to mitigate the impact of climate change variables on crop production

Erradicación del hongo Epichloë coenophiala de Schedonorus arundinaceus (festuca alta) por interrupción del proceso de transmisión vertical

Petigrosso, Lucas R. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Balcarce, Argentina.Vignolio, Osvaldo R. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Balcarce, Argentina.Damiano, Ignacio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Balcarce, Argentina.Echeverría, M. Mercedes. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Balcarce, Argentina.Colabelli, Mabel N. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Balcarce, Argentina.Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA). Buenos Aires, Argentina.55-62Tall fescue is usually infected by a fungal endophyte, responsible of livestock intoxication due to fungal alkaloids. An endophyte fungus grows in the apoplast of aboveground tissues and is vertically transmitted through the seeds. Disinfecting plants or clones not only is useful as a way of eliminating a dangerous microorganism from cultivars, but also for experimental purposes. However, not all fungicides are effective, and if they are, a waiting period must be respected in order to avoid confounding effects of the endophyte and the treatment. We subjected plants (ramets from four genotypes) to different doses of two fungicides, Almagor® (Triazole + Imidazole) and Amistar® (Methoxy-acrylate), and evaluated the endophyte persistence. Fungicides were pipette-poured on pseudostems’ bases of each plant. Endophytic status was diagnosed in tillers that received the fungicide and in the new tillers produced by the plants and seeds. While Amistar® had no detectable effect, Almagor® was 100% effective at all doses. The latter interrupted the verticaltransmission processes (5400 evaluated seeds were endophyte-free). Phytotoxic effects were not observed in seeds. Proportion of normal and abnormal seedlings depended only on plant genotype. Almagor® was effective in stopping the fungus from growing into reproductive buds when apical meristems were down on the bases. Use of Almagor® is promising on old pastures dominated by toxic tall fescue, with the purpose of enriching the soil seed-bank with endophyte-free seeds

Fungal Endophytes Exert Positive Effects on Colobanthus quitensis Under Water Stress but Neutral Under a Projected Climate Change Scenario in Antarctica

Functional symbiosis is considered one of the successful mechanisms by which plants that inhabit extreme environment improve their ability to tolerate different types of stress. One of the most conspicuous type of symbiosis is the endophyticism. This interaction has been noted to play a role in the adaptation of the native vascular plant Colobanthus quitensis to the stressful environments of Antarctica, characterized by low temperatures and extreme aridity. Projections of climate change for this ecosystem indicate that abiotic conditions will be less limiting due to an increase in temperature and water availability in the soil. Due to this decrease in stress induced by the climate change, it has been suggested that the positive role of fungal endophytes on performance of C. quitensis plants would decrease. In this study, we evaluated the role of endophytic fungi on osmoprotective molecules (sugar production, proline, oxidative stress) and gene expression (CqNCED1, CqABCG25, and CqRD22) as well as physiological traits (stomatal opening, net photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance) in individuals of C. quitensis. Individual plants of C. quitensis with (E+) and without (E−) endophytic fungi were exposed to simulated conditions of increased water availability (W+), having the current limiting water condition (W−) in Antarctica as control. The results reveal an endophyte-mediated lower oxidative stress, higher production of sugars and proline in plants. In addition, E+ plants showed differential expressions in genes related with drought stress response, which was more evident in W− than in W+. These parameters corresponded with increased physiological mechanisms such as higher net photosynthesis, stomatal opening and conductance under presence of endophytes (E+) as well as the projected water condition (W+) for Antarctica. These results suggest that the presence of fungal endophytes plays a positive role in favoring tolerance to drought in C. quitensis. However, this positive role would be diminished if the stress factor is relaxed, suggesting that the role of endophytes could be less important under a future scenario of climate change in Antarctica with higher soil water availability.Fil: Hereme, Rasme. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Morales Navarro, Samuel. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Ballesteros, Gabriel. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Barrera, Andrea. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Ramos, Patricio. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Molina Montenegro, Marco A.. Universidad de Talca; Chil

Daño, producción de semillas y persistencia del hongo endófito Epichloë occultans en plantas de Lolium multiflorum bajo un ataque de herbívoros lepidópteros y contaminación por ozono

Plants are expected to face novel challenges as consequence of human-driven global change. Outbreaks of pests and higher incidence of contaminants are increasing. Plants can improve tolerance to stress factors through associations with symbiotic microorganisms. Certain grasses establish persistent and asymptomatic symbioses with Epichloë fungal endophytes, which are known to confer protection against Herbivores and improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress factors. Nonetheless, accumulating evidence suggest the symbiosis outcome is context dependent. We evaluated the capacity of the endophyte fungus E. occultans in protecting the annual grass Lolium multiflorum against a spontaneous larva attack of the generalist herbivore Agrotis ipsilon under episodic exposure of plants to ozone. Symbiotic and non-symbiotic plants were individually grown outdoors and exposed to ozone at different stages resulting in four treatments: control (plant never exposed to ozone), plant exposed to ozone at vegetative stage, plant exposed to ozone at reproductive stage, and plant exposed to ozone at both stages. After the last exposure, there was an outbreak of A. ipsilon larvae. We evaluated herbivore damage, seed production per plant, and endophyte transmission to the seeds. Frequency of attacked plants was irrespective of both the endophyte and ozone exposure. However, the damage level per plant was only reduced by the endophyte. Seed production was slightly lower in endophyte-symbiotic plants and not affected by ozone. Interestingly, herbivore damaged and undamaged endophyte-symbiotic plants contributed equally to seed production. However, in plants exposed to ozone once at vegetative or reproductive stage, endophyte-free undamaged plants had higher seed production than endophyte-free damaged plants. Ozone treatments did not affect the transmission efficiency of endophytes to the seeds. Mean endophyte transmission efficiency per plant was 95%. Medium doses of ozone seem to have undetectable effects on grass-endophyte symbiosis, not affecting the defensive mutualism nor the persistence of the symbiont across generations.Las plantas enfrentan nuevos desafíos debido al cambio global impulsado por las actividades humanas. Mientras los brotes de plagas y la incidencia de contaminantes están en aumento, las plantas pueden mejorar su tolerancia al estrés asociándose con microorganismos. Ciertas gramíneas establecen simbiosis persistentes y asintomáticas con endófitos fúngicos Epichloë, y así obtienen protección contra herbívoros y tolerancia al estrés abiótico. No obstante, los resultados de la simbiosis dependen del contexto ecológico. Evaluamos la capacidad del hongo endófito E. occultans para proteger el pasto anual Lolium multiflorum contra un ataque de larvas del herbívoro generalista Agrotis ipsilon bajo exposición episódica de las plantas al ozono. Cultivamos plantas simbióticas y no-simbióticas en macetas y las expusimos a ozono en diferentes etapas, resultando en cuatro tratamientos: control (nunca expuesta al ozono), planta expuesta al ozono en etapa vegetativa, planta expuesta al ozono en etapa reproductiva y planta expuesta al ozono en ambas etapas. Luego, hubo un brote de larvas de A. ipsilon. Evaluamos el daño causado por las larvas, la producción de semillas por planta y la transmisión del endófito a las semillas. La frecuencia de plantas atacadas fue independiente de la presencia del endófito y del ozono. Sin embargo, el nivel de daño por planta sólo fue afectado y reducido por el endófito. La producción de semillas fue ligeramente menor en las plantas con endófito y no afectada por el ozono. Curiosamente, las plantas simbióticas dañadas y no-dañadas presentaron igual producción de semillas. No obstante, las plantas no-simbióticas no-dañadas produjeron más semillas que las dañadas cuando fueron expuestas una vez a ozono en etapa vegetativa o reproductiva. El ozono no afectó la eficiencia de transmisión de los endófitos a las semillas, la cual fue, en promedio, 95%. El ozono, en dosis medias, parece tener efectos indetectables sobre la simbiosis planta-endófito.Fil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Bigaxzoli, Fernando. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información; ArgentinaFil: Freitas, Priscila P.. Ministry For Primary Industries; Nueva ZelandaFil: Landesmann, Jennifer Brenda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Martínez Ghersa, María Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Ghersa, Claudio Marco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; Argentin

Sipha maydis sensitivity to defences of Lolium multiflorum and its endophytic fungus Epichloë occultans

Background. Plants possess a sophisticated immune system to defend from herbivores. These defence responses are regulated by plant hormones including salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA). Sometimes, plant defences can be complemented by the presence of symbiotic microorganisms. A remarkable example of this are grasses establishing symbiotic associations with Epichloë fungal endophytes. We studied the level of resistance provided by the grass’ defence hormones, and that provided by Epichloë fungal endophytes, against an introduced herbivore aphid. These fungi protect their hosts against herbivores by producing bioactive alkaloids. We hypothesized that either the presence of fungal endophytes or the induction of the plant salicylic acid (SA) defence pathway would enhance the level of resistance of the grass to the aphid. Methods. Lolium multiflorum plants, with and without the fungal endophyte Epichloë occultans, were subjected to an exogenous application of SA followed by a challenge with the aphid, Sipha maydis. Results. Our results indicate that neither the presence of E. occultans nor the induction of the plant’s SA pathway regulate S. maydis populations. However, endophytesymbiotic plants may have been more tolerant to the aphid feeding because these plants produced more aboveground biomass. We suggest that this insect insensitivity could be explained by a combination between the ineffectiveness of the specific alkaloids produced by E. occultans in controlling S. maydis aphids and the capacity of this herbivore to deal with hormone-dependent defences of L. multiflorum.Fil: Bastias, Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Grasslands Research Centre; Nueva ZelandaFil: Martinez-Ghersa, Maria Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Newman, Jonathan A.. Wilfrid Laurier University; CanadáFil: Card, Stuart D.. Grasslands Research Centre; Nueva ZelandaFil: Mace, Wade J.. Grasslands Research Centre; Nueva ZelandaFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentin

Loss of fungal symbionts at the arid limit of the distribution range in a native Patagonian grass—Resource eco-physiological relations

Crucial to our understanding of plant ecology is the consideration of the eco-physiological responses and constraints of plant–fungal symbioses throughout the native distribution range of their host. We examined key eco-physiological roles of two co-occurring fungal symbionts [Epichloë endophytes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)] in the endemic grass Hordeum comosum across a wide bioclimatic gradient and contrasting grazing severity. We sampled H. comosum plants along four humid-to-arid transects in Patagonia, Argentina, covering its entire distribution range and determined Epichloë presence, AMF root colonization, nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE, the ratio of photosynthesis to stomatal conductance) and 18O-enrichment of cellulose in shoots. Root colonization by AMF increased with Epichloë presence. All plants hosted Epichloë in the humid range of the gradient, but symbioses occurrence decreased towards arid sites which also displayed severe grazing symptoms at site level. Symbiosis with Epichloë correlated positively with shoot nitrogen concentration in the centre of the distribution range, and with shoot phosphorus concentration across the entire distribution range. The site-level relationship of AMF colonization with 18O-enrichment and iWUE suggested that mycorrhiza boosted stomatal conductance in humid environments but curbed it in arid environments. While the interpretation of interactions and potential causalities from observational studies should be done with caution, this study demonstrates distinct correlations between plant–fungal symbiont associations and key resource parameters (phosphorus, nitrogen and iWUE vs. 18O-enrichment). Such correlations may suggest particular functional roles for these symbionts in the ecology of their host plant. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.Fil: Casas, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; Argentina. Universitat Technical Zu Munich; AlemaniaFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Talca; ChileFil: Deliens, Eluney. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Iannone, Leopoldo Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: García Martinez, Guillermo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Esquel; ArgentinaFil: Vignale, Maria Victoria. Universidad Nacional de Misiones; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; Argentina. Gobierno de la Provincia de Misiones. Instituto Misionero de Biodiversidad (imibio); ArgentinaFil: Schnyder, Hans. Universitat Technical Zu Munich; Alemani