TreeBASE Search-Analyses for study 13399

@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref21360, author = {Nikki Charlton and Kelly D Craven and Michelle Afkhami and Bradley Hall and Ginger Swoboda and Sita R Ghimire and Carolyn Young}, title = {Genetic diversity in epichloid endophytes of Bromus laevipes provides evidence for independent hybridization events}, year = {2012}, keywords = {}, doi = {}, url = {http://}, pmid = {}, journal = {Molecular Ecology}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, abstract = {Studying geographic variation of microbial mutualists, especially variation in traits related to benefits they provide to their host, is critical for understanding how these microbial associations impact key ecological processes. In this study, we investigate the phylogenetic population structure of mutualistic endophytic fungi across the species range of its host, Bromus laevipes, a native cool-season bunchgrass that is found in California and southern Oregon. We further investigate the geographic variation of endophyte encoded alkaloid genes, which is often associated with the key benefit of natural enemy protection for the host plants. We isolated epichloid endophytes from B. laevipes seeds collected from northern and central California. A total of 58 isolates representing 12 populations were characterized for morphological characteristics such as colony appearance, growth rate and conidial and conidiogenous cell dimensions. Genomic DNA was extracted from all 58 isolates and PCR was used to determine gene diversity at the EAS (ergot alkaloids), LOL (lolines), IDT (indole-diterpenes) and PER (peramine) loci revealing four different chemotypes with the potential for production of at least two or more classes of alkaloid by each isolate. Heterogeneity of alkaloid gene profiles was found within two populations indicating the presence of more than one endophyte. Phylogenies of concatenated tefA and tubB genes supported presence of four distinct epichloid taxa, of which one was nonhybrid and three were unique interspecific hybrids. In addition, inheritance of mating type and alkaloid biosynthesis genes was used to identify differences between hybrids with common ancestral progenitors, which reflect that independent hybridization events have occurred thus defining diversity found in B. laevipes endophytes. The diverse evolutionary histories identified within B. laevipes endophytes may provide insight into the broader ecological implications of endophyte-plant symbioses.} }