Diversity and function of fungal root endophytes in Canadian boreal forests

植物的根部被各种各样的真菌侵占。这些不仅包括有害的病原体，而且还包括促进植物生长的有益物种。还有一些是作为植物根组织中的“内生菌”存在的，它们不会引起疾病症状，也不会形成通常在有益群丛中发现的结构。根内生真菌种类繁多，几乎存在于迄今研究的所有植物中，但其神秘的性质限制了人们对其在土壤环境生态中的作用的研究。根内生真菌可能是一种未被发现的生物多样性来源。不仅以前对真菌根内生真菌的研究发现了高度的多样性，而且叶的内生真菌(地上的类比)被认为是“超多样化”的。现代基于DNA的检测技术比以前使用的技术要敏感得多，应该能揭示这些看不见的生物的真实多样性。真菌根内生真菌的功能也鲜为人知。有些物种是“潜伏的病原体”，最终会引发疾病症状。其他人可能会参与到与寄主的有益关系中，因为他们可能会回报工厂的“服务”。这可能是以保护有害土壤生物或改善植物养分吸收的形式。真菌根内生真菌还可以将树木的根与生长在其林下的植物的根相连，从而分享它们的利益。拟议研究的主要目的是加深我们对根内生真菌的多样性和功能的了解。这项工作将专门针对北方林木的真菌根部内生菌，因为内生菌多样性和植物间联系的潜力很高。收集到的信息将进一步加深我们对对北方森林健康至关重要的基本地下过程的理解，应该会引起森林生态学家和管理者的兴趣。在整个时间范围内，拟议的研究将聘请两名研究生和五名本科生研究助理参与这项工作的所有方面，包括数据分析、会议报告和出版机会。

Plant roots are colonized by a diverse array of fungi. These include not only detrimental pathogens, but also beneficial species which improve plant growth. Still others exist as "endophytes" within the plant root tissue, which do not cause disease symptoms or form the structures normally found in beneficial associations. Root endophytic fungi are often abundant and found on almost all plants so far studied, yet their cryptic nature has constrained investigation into their role in the ecology of the soil environment. Root endophytic fungi potentially represent an undiscovered source of biodiversity. Not only have previous studies of fungal root endophytes uncovered high levels of diversity, but the endophytic fungi of leaves (the above-ground analogy) are thought to be "hyperdiverse". Modern DNA based detection techniques are far more sensitive than those previously employed, and should reveal the true diversity of these unseen organisms.The function of fungal root endophytes is also poorly understood. Some species are "latent pathogens" which will eventually elicit disease symptoms. Others are likely to be involved in beneficial relationships with their hosts in that they may return a "service" to the plant. This may be in the form of protection against detrimental soil organisms or improvement of plant nutrient uptake. Fungal root endophytes may also connect the roots of trees to the roots of plants growing in their understories, allowing for their benefits to be shared.The main objective of the proposed research is to improve our understanding of the diversity and function of the root endophytic fungi. The work will specifically target fungal root endophytes of boreal forest trees, due to the potential for high endophyte diversity and inter-plant connections. The information gathered will further our understanding of fundamental below-ground processes critical to the health of the boreal forest and should be of interest to forest ecologists and managers. Throughout its timeframe, the proposed research will engage two graduate and five undergraduate student research assistants in all aspects of the work, including data analyses, conference presentations and publication opportunities.