Collaborative Research: Functional Significance of "Dark Septate" Endophytes in Grassland and Meadow Ecosystems of Western North America

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Plant roots provide a nutrient-rich environment for a variety of fungi. These fungi participate in several ecosystem functions: decomposition of dead material, facilitation of plant nutrient uptake, and a food source for terrestrial animals. This research program focuses on a new group of root-associated fungi. These fungi appear extremely common in many ecosystems, yet their function has remained beyond the scope of previous investigations. This research program aims to determine whether the target fungi are common throughout North American grasslands, whether the same fungi occur in different grasslands, and what is their function. A combination of microscopic and microbiological techniques will be used to estimate the abundance of the organisms and to identify the common players across the grasslands. Once a selection of the most common fungi has been established sources of nutrients, which the fungi can utilize will be determined. Based on these results the role of these fungi in aiding plant nutrient use will be determined. Understanding the function of these root-associated fungi is crucial as they may be key players in plant performance and allow access to nutrient sources otherwise not available to the plants. Accordingly, these fungi may become an important option for biofertilization in low impact or organic agriculture. The proposed research has also a significant training component: one post-doc, two graduate students and at least two undergraduate students will be involved. The proposed studies will establish a new and innovative research collaboration between a molecular ecologist at Kansas State University and ecosystem ecologist (Myrold) at Oregon State University.