Mateusz Wilk

One stop shop: backbones trees for important phytopathogenic genera: I (2014)

Many fungi are pathogenic on plants and cause significant damage in agriculture and forestry. They are also part of the natural ecosystem and may play a role in regulating plant numbers/density. Morphological identification and analysis of plant pathogenic fungi, while important, is often hampered by the scarcity of discriminatory taxonomic characters and the endophytic or inconspicuous nature of these fungi. Molecular (DNA sequence) data for plant pathogenic fungi have emerged as key information for diagnostic and classification studies, although hampered in part by non-standard laboratory practices and analytical methods. To facilitate current and future research, this study provides phylogenetic synopses for 25 groups of plant pathogenic fungi in the Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mucormycotina (Fungi), and Oomycota, using recent molecular data, up-to-date names, and the latest taxonomic insights. Lineage-specific laboratory protocols together with advice on their application, as well as general observations, are also provided. We hope to maintain updated backbone trees of these fungal lineages over time and to publish them jointly as new data emerge. Researchers of plant pathogenic fungi not covered by the present study are invited to join this future effort. Bipolaris, Botryosphaeriaceae, Botryosphaeria, Botrytis, Choanephora, Colletotrichum, Curvularia, Diaporthe, Diplodia, Dothiorella, Fusarium, Gilbertella, Lasiodiplodia, Mucor, Neofusicoccum, Pestalotiopsis, Phyllosticta, Phytophthora, Puccinia, Pyrenophora, Pythium, Rhizopus, Stagonosporopsis, Ustilago and Verticillium are dealt with in this paper.

Paraconiothyrium babiogorense sp. nov., a new endophyte from fir club moss Huperzia selago (Huperziaceae)

Paraconiothyrium is a recently established genus within the order Pleosporales. Species from this genus are commonly associated with plants but can also be found in soil samples and be parasitic on fungi. Several isolates of a Paraconiothyrium sp. were obtained from Huperzia selago in Poland. Strains were characterized based on morphological characteristics and molecular data (SSU rDNA, ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, ITS2). Based on its unique morphology and DNA phylogeny, isolates were described as a new species: Paraconiothyrium babiogorense, which represents the first report of a Paraconiothyrium species from fir club moss. Comparison of characters with other Paraconiothyrium species is provided as well as a signature sequence for the new species.

The diversity of endophytic fungi in the above-ground tissue of two Lycopodium species in Poland

Endophytes are a large and diverse group of fungi that colonize healthy plant tissues without causing any symptoms. The majority of studies have focused on angiosperm and conifer hosts and few have examined the endophytes of lycophytes. In the present study, we characterized culturable endophytic fungi in two closely related Lycopodium species (L. annotinum and L. clavatum) from pine, beech, oak and spruce forests across Poland. More than 400 strains were isolated but only 18 Ascomycete species were identified. Members of the Dothideomycetes dominated the fungal endophyte communities in Lycopodium. The most abundant taxa cultured were Phoma brasiliensis (from L. clavatum) and Paraconiothyrium lycopodinum (from L. annotinum). Five taxa were isolated exclusively from L. annotinum, but only two of them (Paraconiothyrium lycopodinum and Mycosphaerella sp.) were relatively abundant. Two taxa were only found in L. clavatum, namely: Stagonospora pseudovitensis and an unidentified Dothideomycete. The taxon assigned as Ascomycota 2 (SH219457.06FU) was isolated only from strobili of both host species. Direct PCR and cloning from L. annotinum shoots revealed a substantially greater endophyte richness compared with the results from culturing.

Creeping Environmental Problems in the Pamir Mountains: Landscape Conditions, Climate Change, Wise Use and Threats

Pamir is a highland region in Central Asia, located on the orogenic uplift known as the Pamir Knot which joins several Asian mountain ranges. The name Pamir may derive from the ancient Iranian pai-mir, “foot of Mithra,” god of the sun or from the word pamers, which means the flat and wide high valleys with typical mountain meadows in altitudes around 3500–4000 m above sea level (a.s.l.) High mountain topography (the highest ranges exceed 7000 m a.s.l.) is a characteristic feature of this region and acts as a barrier isolating it from the rest of the world.

The use of compensatory base change analysis of ITS2 as a tool in the phylogeny of Mucorales, illustrated by the Mucor circinelloides complex

Compensatory base changes (CBCs) in helix II of rDNA ITS2, suggested as a molecular classifier for fungi, were analyzed in Mucor circinelloides and its varieties. Only a few CBCs were found in the complex. Three out of the four accepted formae (f. circinelloides, f. lusitanicus, f. janssenii) did not exhibit CBCs. One CBC was found between strains that form zygospores; consequently, CBC is not always concordant with mating experiments. Strains with two CBC are unable to breed. It is suggested that some strains of the M. circinelloides complex are at the beginning of speciation.

Long‐term effects of nutrient enrichment controlling plant species and functional composition in a boreal rich fen

Co-ordinating Editor: Sabine Güsewell Abstract Questions: How does longterm increase in nutrient availability affect species composition, species diversity and functional composition in boreal rich fens, and how does this differ from shortterm effects? What are the possible mechanisms behind the observed changes, and how does nutrient limitation influence species diversity in these communities? Location: Sølendet Nature Reserve, central Norway. Methods: A fullfactorial field experiment. Plots in two localities received one of following treatments (n = 3): no nutrient addition (control), N, P, K, NP, NK, PK and NPK addition. Cover of plant species was recorded before treatment, and after two and 15 years of treatment. Results: Two years of nutrient addition caused small changes in species composition, but addition of NP led to large increase in abundance of species with high ability to exploit the added nutrients—a direct result of the elimination of nutrient limitation in the communities. After 15 years of nutrient addition there were significant changes following three different pathways, one for each of N, P and NP addition. The addition of NP led to large community shifts, considerable species turnover and reduced species and functional richness, mainly caused by increase in cover of highly competitive and tussockforming grasses like Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca ovina and Molinia caerulea, outcompeting other species, especially bryophytes. Addition of N led to smaller changes in species turnover, and without clear dominant species. Addition of P led to considerable species turnover, but no reduction in species or functional richness, and the bryophyte diversity increased. This is explained by the bryophytes’ association with Nfixing cyanobacteria, suggesting less N limitation and a greater ability to utilize the added P when vascular plants suffer from N shortage. In addition, bryophytes are more sensitive to low P availability, due to larger P requirements compared to vascular plants. There was no effect of K addition. Conclusions: Both N and P limitation is essential for the maintenance of high species diversity in boreal rich fens, and P limitation controls bryophyte diversity. From a management perspective, N and P limitation is vital in the conservation of boreal rich fens or when a functional fen system is reestablished through restoration measures.

Colonization of decomposing Sphagnum moss litter by mycorrhizal roots in two types of peatland ecosystems

Abstract During a 35-month study on the decomposition of Sphagnum moss litter in poor fen and pine bog forest, an intensive colonization of litter-bags by mycorrhizal roots was observed during the decomposition process. Content of mycorrhizal roots in litter-bags, expressed as % mass of roots, was generally increasing during the decomposition in pine bog forest, and fluctuating during decomposition on poor fen, although in both cases the results were statistically insignificant. Two morphotypes of ericoid roots and two morphotypes of ectomycorrhizal roots were recorded from litter-bags on poor fen during the decomposition experiment, while in pine bog forest one morphotype of ericoid and nine morphotypes of ectomycorrhizal roots were recorded. Molecular identification of mycorrhizal roots succeeded only in the case of one ericoid and six putatively ectomycorrhizal morphotypes. Most morphotypes were recorded only once during the whole 35-month decomposition period, and only one ericoid and one ectomycorrhizal morphotypes were shared between the poor fen and pine bog forest communities Streszczenie Podczas blisko trzyletnich badań nad rozkładem mchu torfowca na torfowisku przejściowym oraz w borze bagiennym w północno-wschodniej Polsce zaobserwowano kolonizację materiału roślinnego w woreczkach ściółkowych przez silnie zmykoryzowane korzenie. Procentowa zawartość tych korzeni, wyrażona jako stosunek ich suchej masy do suchej masy rozkładających się szczątków roślinnych, generalnie zwiększała się wraz z upływem czasu w borze bagiennym, natomiast w przypadku torfowiska przejściowego nie wykazała wyraźnych tendencji; z racji niewielkiej liczby powtórzeń zaobserwowane różnice nie były jednak istotne statystycznie. W materiale roślinnym rozkładającym się na torfowisku przejściowym odnotowano obecność dwóch morfotypów korzeni wrzosowatych oraz dwóch morfotypów korzeni ektomykoryzowych, natomiast w borze bagiennym odnotowano jeden morfotyp korzeni wrzosowatych i 9 morfotypów korzeni ektomykoryzowych. Tylko jeden morfotyp wrzosowatych i jeden ektomykoryzowy były odnotowane w obu typach siedlisk; różnice wynikały z zasadniczych różnic w składzie zbiorowisk roślinnych pomiędzy badanymi powierzchniami. Większość (7 z 10) morfotypów ektomykoryz pojawiła się tylko raz podczas całego okresu trwania eksperymentu. Badania molekularne uzyskanych morfotypów powiodły się jedynie w siedmiu przypadkach: zidentyfikowano jeden gatunek tworzący mykoryzę erikoidalną, trzy gatunki tworzące ektomykoryzy (w tym jeden tworzący dwa morfotypy) oraz dwa gatunki grzybów wielkoowocnikowych znanych jako saprotrofy, prawdopodobnie wtórnie infekujących korzenie. Sekwencje uzyskane z pozostałych badanych morfotypów należały do grzybów mikroskopijnych najprawdopodobniej kolonizujących korzenie jako saprotrofy lub endofity. Pomimo że badania niniejsze stanowią jedynie szkicowe studium, to jednoznacznie wskazują na możliwość udziału grzybów mykoryzowych w procesach rozkładu materii roślinnej w ekosystemach torfowiskowych.