'Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space'
Abstract
Foliar endophytic fungi (FEF) have been found living asymptomatically within the leaf tissues of all land plants sampled thus far. Hawaii presents a unique landscape for examining the ecology and evolution of these cryptic fungal symbionts. The isolation of the Hawaiian archipelago provides a strong barrier to colonization by host plants and their associated endophytes. The native plant genus Scaevola (Goodeniaceae) is the result of three separate colonization events and has adapted to a variety of habitats, including coastal strand, rain forest, and exposed lava flow. This project focused on quantitatively assessing FEF diversity and community structure in Scaevola through a combination of culture based methods and high-throughput environmental sequencing. Leaf samples were collected from 35 individuals of Scaevola representing 8 species from three islands. Cultured endophytes were grouped into Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) based on 97% similarity of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS). Sequences of the nuclear large ribosomal subunit (LSU) were generated from isolates representing each OTU. Phylogenies were constructed using LSU sequence data and annotated with ecological data derived from Illumina® sequencing. Endophyte community composition was compared on the basis of host genetics (e.g. host species & host lineage) and abiotic environmental factors (e.g. elevation & mean annual temperature)
