Sponsor
Funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to D.J.B. (grants IOS 1457369 and 1656057), Puget Sound Mycological Society to E.R.W., and the Northwest Ecological Research Institute (NERI) to E.R.W. is gratefully acknowledged.
Published In
Microorganisms
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2020
Subjects
Plant-microbe relationships, Microbial ecology, Endophytic fungi, Plant litter -- Biodegradation
Abstract
Litter decomposition rates are affected by a variety of abiotic and biotic factors, including the presence of fungal endophytes in host plant tissues. This review broadly analyzes the findings of 67 studies on the roles of foliar endophytes in litter decomposition, and their effects on decomposition rates. From 29 studies and 1 review, we compiled a comprehensive table of 710 leaf-associated fungal taxa, including the type of tissue these taxa were associated with and isolated from, whether they were reported as endo- or epiphytic, and whether they had reported saprophytic abilities. Aquatic (i.e., in-stream) decomposition studies of endophyte-affected litter were significantly under-represented in the search results (p < 0.0001). Indicator species analyses revealed that different groups of fungal endophytes were significantly associated with cool or tropical climates, as well as specific plant host genera (p < 0.05). Finally, we argue that host plant and endophyte interactions can significantly influence litter decomposition rates and should be considered when interpreting results from both terrestrial and in-stream litter decomposition experiments.
Rights
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.3390/microorganisms8030446
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/32668
Citation Details
Wolfe, E. R., & Ballhorn, D. J. (2020). Do Foliar Endophytes Matter in Litter Decomposition?. Microorganisms, 8(3), 446.