Fungicide and fertilizer-mediated changes in prairie plant-foliar fungal endophyte interactions

Brown, Noah

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125637 Copy

Description

Title

Fungicide and fertilizer-mediated changes in prairie plant-foliar fungal endophyte interactions

Author(s)

Brown, Noah

Issue Date

2024-07-16

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Yannarell, Anthony

Committee Member(s)

• Dalling, James
• Heath, Katy

Department of Study

School of Integrative Biology

Discipline

Ecol, Evol, Conservation Biol

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• fungal endophytes
• prairie ecology

Abstract

Plants harbor a diverse group of microbes that play various roles in mediating plant fitness. One such group of microbes includes foliar endophytic fungi that live inside all parts of plant leaves. Because some of these fungi have a wide variety of beneficial effects on plant hosts, it is vital to understand how human activities, such as the use of agricultural products, impacts the ecology of these fungi in off-target ecosystems. Here I explored the effects of fungicide exposure on endophyte diversity in an experimental prairie, the Philips Tract, and tested the effects of soil fertilizers on the relationship between endophytes and their hosts. To measure fungicide effects on fungal diversity, fungal isolates were cultured and fungal DNA was sequenced from leaves of Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, Monarda fistulosa, Penstemon digitalis, and Pycnanthemum virginianum from control and fungicide-treated plots. Additionally, isolated fungi were screened for auxin and ammonia production and phosphate solubilization ability to determine potential plant growth-promoting phenotypes. To test the effects of fertilizers on these plant-fungal interactions, greenhouse plants were inoculated with fungal isolates and grown under control and fertilized soil conditions. Results from this study found that S. nutans had a significant decrease in fungal richness in fungicide-treated plots, fungicide did not affect fungal composition, two isolates produce auxin, all isolates produce ammonia, no isolate could solubilize phosphate, and that an Alternaria sp., Nemania sp., Hypoxylon sp., and Phoma sp. significantly increased change in height of their respective plant hosts only in either control or fertilized conditions. This study has thus highlighted the potential impacts that neighboring agricultural activity may be having on aboveground plant-fungal relationships in nearby prairie systems.

Graduation Semester

2024-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125637

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Noah Brown

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