Host-associated Intraspecific Phenotypic Variation in the Saprobic Fungus Phlebiopsis gigantea

Microb Ecol. 2023 Jan 28. doi: 10.1007/s00248-023-02176-z. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTWhether intraspecific phenotypic variation in saprobic fungi may be driven by the host of origin has received little attention. We addressed this issue by testing hypotheses using the model system Phlebiopsis gigantea, a wood destroying fungus associated with Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris, among others, and widely employed in practical forestry as a biological control agent. By examining approximately 60 sympatric P. gigantea isolates from both P. abies and P. sylvestris, we showed that the former grew in vitro significantly (P < 0.05) slower than the latter (average 5.56 mm/day vs. 6.84) while producing 1.8-fold significantly higher number of mitospores. An overall significant trade-off between these two phenotypic traits was detected, in particular for isolates originating from P. abies. Comparative inoculation experiments of a subsample of isolates and the assessment of mycelial growth in logs of both hosts allowed to reject the hypothesis that isolates are equally fit in terms of growth rate in wood of both hosts regardless of the host of origin. Tree models revealed that the growth rate of isolates was associated not only with the wood species in which the isolates were inoculated (P < 0.001), P. sylvestris being more rapidly colonized than P. abies, but also with the host of origin of isolates (P < 0.001). Results showed that P. gigantea isolates originating from differe...

Source: Microbial Ecology - January 28, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: D ārta Kļaviņa Guglielmo Lione Krist īne Kenigsvalde Martina Pellicciaro Indri ķis Muižnieks Lauma Silbauma Jur ģis Jansons T ālis Gaitnieks Paolo Gonthier Source Type: research