| Abstract Detail
Plant-Fungal Interactions Arnold, A.E. [1]. Fungal endophytes: cryptic keys to understanding the evolution of major ecological modes in the Ascomycota. In the last five years, tremendous progress in inferring the fungal tree of life has provided new insight into broad patterns underlying the evolution of plant-fungal symbioses. A major missing piece, however, remains in the poorly known and cryptic microfungi, such as endophytes associated with healthy foliage, which are not yet routinely incorporated into multilocus phylogenies. I will highlight the tremendous diversity, variable host specificity, and diverse evolutionary history of endophytic fungi (1) associated with all major lineages of land plants and (2) at sites ranging from the tropics to the tundra. Using multi-gene phylogenies as a foundation, I will show that these often overlooked fungi are key to understanding the shape and content of the fungal tree of life, and that they provide a critical ‘missing piece’ for understanding the evolution of major ecological modes in the Ascomycota, the most species-rich fungal phylum. Log in to add this item to your schedule
Related Links: Arnold lab webpage Robert L. Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium, part of ARIZ (University of Arizona)
1 - The University of Arizona, Department of Plant Sciences, Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, 1140 E. South Campus Drive, Forbes 303, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Keywords: Fungi Symbiosis Endophyte Diversity Bayesian phylogeny.
Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation Session: SY14 Location: Boulevard A/Hilton Date: Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 Time: 4:00 PM Number: SY14006 Abstract ID:2319 |