Endophytic fungi in forest trees: are they mutualists?

The main constraint and continuing threat to cocoa production in Latin America is disease caused by two basidiomycete fungi belonging to the genus Crinipellis (Agaricales), both of which are currently on an invasive front Classical biological control, in which coevolved natural enemies are considered to offer the most potential for sustainable control of invasive alien organisms, is investigated as a management strategy Our initial approach has been to search for the suspected coevolved host (Theobroma gileri) of one of these pathogens, Crinipellis roreri, the causal agent of frosty pod rot, in the mesic forests of north-west Ecuador; to isolate the endophytes and mycoparasites associated with both host and pathogen; to screen selected fungi in the greenhouse and laboratory, in order to determine their biocontrol potential Endophytes were isolated directly in the field from healthy tree boles and pods, and over 40 genera were recorded, mainly representing anamorphs of Hypocreales in the genera Acremonium, Clonostachys, Trichoderma and Verticillium, as well as basidiomycetes belonging to the Agaricales and Polyporales Of the endophytic fungi tested, most can be inoculated into and recovered from asymptomatic cocoa seedlings Twenty-eight mycoparasitic species were isolated from diseased pods and selected mycoparasites as well as endophytes were screened against C roreri using the pre-colonised plate method Consistently high mycoparasitism of the C roreri pseudostroma was demonstrated, particularly by a complex of Clonostachys and Trichoderma species

Endophytes and mycoparasites associated with an indigenous forest tree, Theobroma gileri , in Ecuador and a preliminary assessment of their potential as biocontrol agents of cocoa diseases

Fungal entomopathogens have been proposed as environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical control. Unfortunately, their effectiveness continues to be limited by their susceptibility to ultravi...

The use of fungal entomopathogens as endophytes in biological control: a review.

., 2000; Tan and Zou, 2001). If these fungi could be utilized to produce the bioactive compounds of medicinal plants on large-scale fermentors, this would provide a new technology for producing many types of Traditional Chinese medicine. Some endophytic fungi have been found to produce similar medicinal compounds to that of the host. Proof of principal was realized when the anticancer drug taxol was found to be produced by endophytic fungi isolated from

Biodiversity and tissue-recurrence of endophytic fungi in Tripterygium wilfordii

One stop mycology

Young healthy coppice shoots of Castanea sativa were collected at two sites, one south and one north of the Alps in Switzerland. The surface-sterilized shoots were incubated under two different dry...

Martin Bissegger

Papers

Assemblages of endophytic fungi in coppice shoots of Castanea sativa