The “Trojan horse” strategy: Seed fungal endophyte symbiosis helps to explain the invasion success of the grass, Poa annua, in Maritime Antarctica

0577464 - BÚ 2024 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Molina-Montenegro, M. A. - Ballesteros, G. I. - Acuña-Rodríguez, I. S. - Pertierra, L. R. - Greve, M. - Richardson, David Mark - Convey, P. - Biersma, E. M. - Goodall-Copestake, W. P. - Newsham, K. K.
The “Trojan horse” strategy: Seed fungal endophyte symbiosis helps to explain the invasion success of the grass, Poa annua, in Maritime Antarctica.
Diversity and Distributions. Roč. 29, č. 11 (2023), s. 1432-1444. ISSN 1366-9516. E-ISSN 1472-4642
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) EF18_053/0017850
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : annual bluegrass (Poa annua) * King George Island * seed fungal endophytes
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 4.6, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13768

Endophytes were at least twice as frequent in seeds from Maritime Antarctica than in those from other regions. A higher proportion of endophyte-colonized seeds germinated and survived than did uncolonised seeds, but only when they originated from Maritime Antarctica. Seed endophytes increased the competitiveness of P. annua with D. antarctica, but only for plants grown from Maritime Antarctic seeds. In the field, endophyte-colonized seeds from Maritime Antarctica germinated and survived more frequently than uncolonised seeds, and osmoprotection was higher in seedlings grown from colonized seed. The findings indicate beneficial effects of seed endophytes on invasion-related traits of P. annua, such as survival, germination success and flowering. Together with vegetative and reproductive traits facilitating the colonization process, the seed-fungal endophyte symbiosis can be invoked as an important factor explaining the invasiveness of P. annua in Maritime Antarctica.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0347967