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Abstract Detail


Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions

Lader, Kali [1], Dawson, Todd [2], Specht, Chelsea [3].

Community Structure of Foliar Endophytic Fungi Associated with Sequoia sempervirens.

Sequoia sempervirens, the coast redwood is the tallest growing tree in the world. Given its great height, it is physiologically impressive that these plants can transport water to their uppermost branches, some more than 115 meters in the air. In the dry summer months in northern California the redwoods can supplement their water intake by directly absorbing fog water as it condenses on its foliage. Fungi have been found growing on the leaf surfaces and even penetrating the stomatal openings, colonizing the leaf mesophyll tissues. We hypothesize that these fungi play a pivotal role in the uptake of fog water in summer by redwood tree leaves.
Foliage samples were collected in an old growth stand near Occidental CA. Samples were taken from six trees from both the lower and upper canopies. Most samples were frozen for later use in direct fungal DNA extraction as part of a larger fungal community analysis. However, a subset of these samples was used to culture the endo/epiphytic fungi. DNA from the hyphae was extracted, amplified and sequenced using the fungal primers ITS 1F and ITS 4 for use in identification and community analyses. A phylogenetic approach (Phylogenetic Diversity Index) will be used to compare the communities of fungi throughout the canopies of the six trees. The results of these analyses, and their import for the continued research of the fungal community and physiology in this system will be discussed.


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1 - University of California Berkeley, Plant and Microbial Biology, 111Koshland Hall MC 3102, Berkeley , CA, 94720-3102, USA
2 - University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Bldg #3140, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
3 - University of California, Berkeley, Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall MC 3102, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3102, USA

Keywords:
endophytic fungi
Sequoia sempervirens
community structure.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 59
Location: Wasatch B/Cliff Lodge - Level C
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Time: 9:15 AM
Number: 59006
Abstract ID:793