Serendipita Fungi Modulate the Switchgrass Root Transcriptome to Circumvent Host Defenses and Establish a Symbiotic Relationship.

The fungal family Serendipitaceae encompasses root-associated lineages with endophytic, ericoid, orchid, and ectomycorrhizal lifestyles. Switchgrass is an important bioenergy crop for cellulosic ethanol production owing to high biomass production on marginal soils otherwise unfit for food crop cultivation. The aim of this study was to investigate the host plant responses to Serendipita spp. colonization by characterizing the switchgrass root transcriptome during different stages of symbiosis in vitro. For this, we included a native switchgrass strain, Serendipita bescii, and a related strain, S. vermifera, isolated from Australian orchids. Serendipita colonization progresses from thin hyphae that grow between root cells to, finally, the production of large, bulbous hyphae that fill root cells during the later stages of colonization. We report that switchgrass seems to perceive both fungi prior to physical contact, leading to the activation of chemical and structural defense responses and putative host disease resistance genes. Subsequently, the host defense system appears to be quenched and carbohydrate metabolism adjusted, potentially to accommodate the fungal symbiont. In addition, prior to contact, switchgrass exhibited significant increases in root hair density and root surface area. Furthermore, genes involved in phytohormone metabolism such as gibberellin, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid were activated during different stages of colonization. Both fungal strains induced plant gene expression in a similar manner, indicating a conserved plant response to members of this fungal order. Understanding plant responsiveness to Serendipita spp. will inform our efforts to integrate them into forages and row crops for optimal plant-microbe functioning, thus facilitating low-input, sustainable agricultural practices.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Serendipita bescii promotes winter wheat growth and modulates the host root transcriptome under phosphorus and nitrogen starvation.

Serendipita vermifera ssp. bescii, hereafter referred to as S. bescii, is a root-associated fungus that promotes plant growth in both its native switchgrass host and a variety of monocots and dicots. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a dual-purpose crop, used for both forage and grain production, significantly contributes to the agricultural economies of the Southern Great Plains, USA. In this study, we investigated the influence of S. bescii on growth and transcriptome regulation of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) metabolism in winter wheat. Serendipita bescii significantly improved lateral root growth and forage biomass under a limited N or P regime. Further, S. bescii activated sets of host genes regulating N and P starvation responses. These genes include, root-specific auxin transport, strigolactone and gibberellin biosynthesis, degradation of phospholipids and biosynthesis of glycerolipid, downregulation of ammonium transport and nitrate assimilation, restriction of protein degradation by autophagy and subsequent N remobilization. All these genes are hypothesized to regulate acquisition, assimilation and remobilization of N and P. Based on transcriptional level gene regulation and physiological responses to N or P limitation, we suggest S. bescii plays a critical role in modulating stress imposed by limitation of these two critical nutrients in winter wheat.

Sebacina vermifera: a unique root symbiont with vast agronomic potential.

The Sebacinales belong to a taxonomically, ecologically, and physiologically diverse group of fungi in the Basidiomycota. While historically recognized as orchid mycorrhizae, recent DNA studies have brought to light both their pandemic distribution and the broad spectrum of mycorrhizal types they form. Indeed, ecological studies using molecular-based methods of detection have found Sebacinales fungi in field specimens of bryophytes (moss), pteridophytes (fern) and all families of herbaceous angiosperms (flowering plants) from temperate, subtropical and tropical regions. These natural host plants include, among others, liverworts, wheat, maize and Arabidopsis thaliana, the model plant traditionally viewed as non-mycorrhizal. The orchid mycorrhizal fungus Sebacina vermifera (MAFF 305830) was first isolated from the Australian orchid Cyrtostylis reniformis. Research performed with this strain clearly indicates its plant growth promoting abilities in a variety of plants, while demonstrating a lack of specificity that rivals or even surpasses that of arbuscular mycorrhizae. Indeed, these traits thus far appear to characterize a majority of strains belonging to the so-called "clade B" within the Sebacinales (recently re-classified as the Serendipitaceae), raising numerous basic research questions regarding plant-microbe signaling and the evolution of mycorrhizal symbioses. Further, given their proven beneficial impact on plant growth and their apparent but cryptic ubiquity, sebacinoid fungi should be considered as a previously hidden, but amenable and effective microbial tool for enhancing plant productivity and stress tolerance.

Deletion of the fungal gene soft disrupts mutualistic symbiosis between the grass endophyte Epichloë festucae and the host plant.

Hyphal anastomosis, or vegetative hyphal fusion, establishes the interconnection of individual hyphal strands into an integrated network of a fungal mycelium. In contrast to recent advances in the understanding of the molecular basis for hyphal anastomosis, knowledge of the physiological role of hyphal anastomosis in the natural habitats of filamentous fungi is still very limited. To investigate the role of hyphal anastomosis in fungal endophyte-plant interactions, we generated mutant strains lacking the Epichloë festucae soft (so) gene, an ortholog of the hyphal anastomosis gene so in the endophytic fungus E. festucae. The E. festucae Δso mutant strains grew similarly to the wild-type strain in culture but with reduced aerial hyphae and completely lacked hyphal anastomosis. The most striking phenotype of the E. festucae Δso mutant strain was that it failed to establish a mutualistic symbiosis with the tall fescue plant host (Lolium arundinaceum); instead, it killed the host plant within 2 months after the initial infection. Microscopic examination revealed that the death of the tall fescue plant host was associated with the distortion and disorganization of plant cells. This study suggests that hyphal anastomosis may have an important role in the establishment/maintenance of fungal endophyte-host plant mutualistic symbiosis.

There are many ways to be a mutualist: endophytic fungus reduces plant survival but increases population growth.

One of the challenges to quantifying the costs and benefits of symbiosis is that symbionts can influence different components of host fitness. To improve understanding of the ecology of inherited symbionts, we developed general theory for a perennial host-hereditary symbiont interaction, in which symbionts can have independent and potentially opposing effects on host regeneration and survival. The model showed that negative effects on one component of fitness may be outweighed by positive effects on another, leading to a net positive impact of symbiosis on population growth. Model predictions depended on the availability of suitable patches, which influenced the relative contributions of survival vs. regeneration to host fitness. We then used experimental symbiont removal to quantify effects of a hereditary, fungal endophyte on a grass host. Endophyte presence strongly reduced host survival but increased regeneration. Application of the model revealed that negative effects on plant survival were overwhelmed by beneficial effects on regeneration, resulting in stable endophyte persistence at 100% frequency, consistent with field observations. Our work demonstrates the utility of a demographic perspective for predicting the dynamics of symbioses and supports the hypothesis that symbionts function as mutualists when host and symbiont fitness are coupled through vertical transmission.

The small GTPase RacA mediates intracellular reactive oxygen species production, polarized growth, and virulence in the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.

Aspergillus fumigatus is the predominant mold pathogen in immunocompromised patients. In this study, we present the first characterization of the small GTPase RacA in A. fumigatus. To gain insight into the function of racA in the growth and pathogenesis of A. fumigatus, we constructed a strain that lacks a functional racA gene. The ΔracA strain showed significant morphological defects, including a reduced growth rate and abnormal conidiogenesis on glucose minimal medium. In the ΔracA strain, apical dominance in the leading hyphae is lost and, instead, multiple axes of polarity emerge. Intriguingly, superoxide production at the hyphal tips was reduced by 25% in the ΔracA strain. Treatment of wild-type hyphae with diphenylene iodonium, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, resulted in phenotypes similar to that of the ΔracA strain. These data suggest that ΔracA strain phenotypes may be due to a reduction or alteration in the production of reactive oxygen species. Most surprisingly, despite these developmental and growth abnormalities, the ΔracA strain retained at least wild-type virulence in both an insect model and two immunologically distinct murine models of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. These results demonstrate that in vitro growth phenotypes do not always correlate with in vivo virulence and raise intriguing questions about the role of RacA in Aspergillus virulence.

Epichloe canadensis, a new interspecific epichloid hybrid symbiotic with Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis).

Many Epichloë endophytes found in cool-season grasses are interspecific hybrids possessing much or all of the genomes of two or three progenitors. Here we characterize Epichloë canadensis sp. nov., a hybrid species inhabiting the grass species Elymus canadensis native to North America. Three distinct morphotypes were identified that were separated into two groups by molecular phylogenetic analysis. Sequence analysis of the translation elongation factor 1-α (tefA) and ß-tubulin (tubB) genes revealed two copies in all isolates examined. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that allele 1 of each gene was derived from Epichloë amarillans and allele 2 from Epichloë elymi. This is the first documentation of an interspecific hybrid endophyte derived from parents of strictly North American origins. Alkaloid gene profiling using primers specific to genes in the peramine, loline, indole-diterpene and ergot alkaloid pathways may indicate chemotypic variation in the ergot alkaloid and loline pathways between the assigned morphotypes. All isolates have the gene enabling the production of peramine but lack genes in the indole-diterpene biosynthesis pathway. Morphology and phylogenetic evidence support the designation of isolates from El. canadensis as a new interspecific hybrid species.

Enhancement of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) biomass production under drought conditions by the ectomycorrhizal fungus Sebacina vermifera.

Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of cocultivating the important bioenergy crop switchgrass with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Sebacina vermifera under severe drought conditions. Plants cocultivated with the fungus produced significantly higher biomass and had a higher macronutrient content than uninoculated control plants under both adequately watered and drought conditions.

Prevalence of an intraspecific Neotyphodium hybrid in natural populations of stout wood reed (Cinna arundinacea L.) from eastern North America.

Members of genus Neotyphodium are asexual derivatives of sexual Epichloë species and maintain endophytic relationships with many cool-season grasses. Most Neotyphodium species analyzed so far are interspecific hybrids with combined or partial genomes of two or three ancestral species. In this study we characterized Neotyphodium isolates from Cinna arundinacea, a perennial cool-season grass from eastern North America. A total of 23 isolates grouping into two distinct morphotypes were obtained from five local populations of C. arundinacea. PCR amplification and cloning of translation-elongation factor 1-α (tefA) and ß-tubulin (tubB) genes of 10 isolates comprising both morphotypes (two isolates per location) revealed that all 10 contain two copies of tefA and tubB genes. Surprisingly phylogenetic analysis of mainly non-coding sequence from these genes revealed that both copies in each isolate were inherited from Epichloë typhina ancestors, indicating that the C. arundinacea endophytes arose through intraspecific hybridization between two E. typhina progenitors with extant relatives infecting hosts Poa nemoralis and Poa pratensis. Furthermore the tefA sequences were identical between isolates, as were tubB sequences, despite obvious morphological differences. Profiling of alkaloid biosynthetic genes from these isolates indicated the presence of the peramine biosynthetic gene (perA) and the absence of genes required for biosynthesis of lolines, indole-diterpenes and ergot alkaloids. Thus this endophyte is potentially capable of producing peramine in planta and providing protection to its host from insect pests. The absence of genes for indole-diterpenes and ergot alkaloid biosynthesis makes this endophyte a candidate for agricultural applications. Based on our phylogenetic analysis, alkaloid profiling and description of morphological characteristics, we propose the name Neotyphodium schardlii for these isolates from C. arundinacea, a new member of genus Neotyphodium and the first described to have arisen through intraspecific hybridization.

Draft Genome Sequences of Switchgrass Diazotrophs.

We report the draft genome sequences of five native nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with roots of switchgrass isolated from the tallgrass prairies of Oklahoma. Nitrogen-fixing genes, including the nif cluster, are conserved across the Klebsiella and Kosakonia strains.

Protist diversity and community complexity in the rhizosphere of switchgrass are dynamic as plants develop.

BACKGROUND: Despite their widespread distribution and ecological importance, protists remain one of the least understood components of the soil and rhizosphere microbiome. Knowledge of the roles that protists play in stimulating organic matter decomposition and shaping microbiome dynamics continues to grow, but there remains a need to understand the extent to which biological and environmental factors mediate protist community assembly and dynamics. We hypothesize that protists communities are filtered by the influence of plants on their rhizosphere biological and physicochemical environment, resulting in patterns of protist diversity and composition that mirror previously observed diversity and successional dynamics in rhizosphere bacterial communities. RESULTS: We analyzed protist communities associated with the rhizosphere and bulk soil of switchgrass (SG) plants (Panicum virgatum) at different phenological stages, grown in two marginal soils as part of a large-scale field experiment. Our results reveal that the diversity of protists is lower in rhizosphere than bulk soils, and that temporal variations depend on soil properties but are less pronounced in rhizosphere soil. Patterns of significantly prevalent protists groups in the rhizosphere suggest that most protists play varied ecological roles across plant growth stages and that some plant pathogenic protists and protists with omnivorous diets reoccur over time in the rhizosphere. We found that protist co-occurrence network dynamics are more complex in the rhizosphere compared to bulk soil. A phylogenetic bin-based null model analysis showed that protists' community assembly in our study sites is mainly controlled by homogenous selection and dispersal limitation, with stronger selection in rhizosphere than bulk soil as SG grew and senesced. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that environmental filtering is a dominant determinant of overall protist community properties and that at the rhizosphere level, plant control on the physical and biological environment is a critical driver of protist community composition and dynamics. Since protists are key contributors to plant nutrient availability and bacterial community composition and abundance, mapping and understanding their patterns in rhizosphere soil is foundational to understanding the ecology of the root-microbe-soil system. Video Abstract.

Microbe to Microbiome: A Paradigm Shift in the Application of Microorganisms for Sustainable Agriculture.

Light, water and healthy soil are three essential natural resources required for agricultural productivity. Industrialization of agriculture has resulted in intensification of cropping practices using enormous amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that damage these natural resources. Therefore, there is a need to embrace agriculture practices that do not depend on greater use of fertilizers and water to meet the growing demand of global food requirements. Plants and soil harbor millions of microorganisms, which collectively form a microbial community known as the microbiome. An effective microbiome can offer benefits to its host, including plant growth promotion, nutrient use efficiency, and control of pests and phytopathogens. Therefore, there is an immediate need to bring functional potential of plant-associated microbiome and its innovation into crop production. In addition to that, new scientific methodologies that can track the nutrient flux through the plant, its resident microbiome and surrounding soil, will offer new opportunities for the design of more efficient microbial consortia design. It is now increasingly acknowledged that the diversity of a microbial inoculum is as important as its plant growth promoting ability. Not surprisingly, outcomes from such plant and soil microbiome studies have resulted in a paradigm shift away from single, specific soil microbes to a more holistic microbiome approach for enhancing crop productivity and the restoration of soil health. Herein, we have reviewed this paradigm shift and discussed various aspects of benign microbiome-based approaches for sustainable agriculture.

Labyrinthulomycetes phylogeny and its implications for the evolutionary loss of chloroplasts and gain of ectoplasmic gliding.

The labyrinthulomycetes, also known as the 'Labyrinthulomycota' are saprotrophic or less frequently parasitic stramenopilan protists, usually in marine ecosystems. Their distinguishing feature is an 'ectoplasmic net,' an external cytoplasmic network secreted by a specialized organelle that attaches the cell to its substrate and secretes digestive enzymes for absorptive nutrition. In this study, one of our aims was to infer the phylogenetic position of the labyrinthulomycetes relative to the non-photosynthetic bicoeceans and oomycetes and the photosynthetic ochrophytes and thereby evaluate patterns of change from photosynthesis to saprotrophism among the stramenopiles. For the labyrinthulomycetes, we determined sequences of the actin, beta-tubulin, and elongation factor 1-alpha gene fragments and where necessary, ribosomal small subunit (SSU) genes. Multilocus analysis using standard tree construction techniques not only strongly supported the oomycetes as the sister group to the phototrophic stramenopiles, but also, for the first time with moderate statistical support, showed that the labyrinthulomycetes and the bicoecean as sister groups. The paraphyly of the non-photosynthetic groups was consistent with independent loss of photosynthesis in labyrinthulomycetes and oomycetes. We also wished to develop a phylogenetically based hypothesis for the origin of the gliding cell bodies and the ectoplasmic net found in some labyrinthulomycetes. The cells of species in Labyrinthula and Aplanochytrium share a specialized form of motility involving gliding on ectoplasmic tracks. Before our study, only ribosomal DNA genes had been determined for these genera and their phylogenetic position in the labyrinthulomycetes was equivocal. Multilocus phylogenies applying our newly determined protein-coding sequences divided the labyrinthulomycetes between sister clades 'A' and 'B' and showed that the monophyletic group containing all of the gliding species was nested among non-gliding species in clade B. This phylogeny suggested that species that glide via an ectoplasm evolved from species that had used the ectoplasm mainly for anchorage and assimilation rather than motility.

Anastomosis is required for virulence of the fungal necrotroph Alternaria brassicicola.

A fungal mycelium is typically composed of radially extending hyphal filaments interconnected by bridges created through anastomoses. These bridges facilitate the dissemination of nutrients, water, and signaling molecules throughout the colony. In this study, we used targeted gene deletion and nitrate utilization mutants of the cruciferous pathogen Alternaria brassicicola and two closely related species to investigate hyphal fusion (anastomosis) and its role in the ability of fungi to cause disease. All eight of the A. brassicicola isolates tested, as well as A. mimicula and A. japonica, were capable of self-fusion, with two isolates of A. brassicicola being capable of non-self-fusion. Disruption of the anastomosis gene homolog (Aso1) in A. brassicicola resulted in both the loss of self-anastomosis and pathogenicity on cabbage. This finding, combined with our discovery that a previously described nonpathogenic A. brassicicola mutant defective for a mitogen-activated protein kinase gene (amk1) also lacked the capacity for self-anastomosis, suggests that self-anastomosis is associated with pathogenicity in A. brassicicola.

Scavenging organic nitrogen and remodelling lipid metabolism are key survival strategies adopted by the endophytic fungi, Serendipita vermifera and Serendipita bescii to alleviate nitrogen and phosphorous starvation in vitro.

Serendipitaceae represents a diverse fungal group in the Basidiomycota that includes endophytes and lineages that repeatedly evolved ericoid, orchid and ectomycorrhizal lifestyle. Plants rely upon both nitrogen and phosphorous, for essential growth processes, and are often provided by mycorrhizal fungi. In this study, we investigated the cellular proteome of Serendipita vermifera MAFF305830 and closely related Serendipita vermifera subsp. bescii NFPB0129 grown in vitro under (N) ammonium and (P) phosphate starvation conditions. Mycelial growth pattern was documented under these conditions to correlate growth-specific responses to nutrient starvation. We found that N-starvation accelerated hyphal radial growth, whereas P-starvation accelerated hyphal branching. Additionally, P-starvation triggers an integrated starvation response leading to remodelling of lipid metabolism. Higher abundance of an ammonium transporter known to serve as both an ammonium sensor and stimulator of hyphal growth was detected under N-starvation. Additionally, N-starvation led to strong up-regulation of nitrate, amino acid, peptide, and urea transporters, along with several proteins predicted to have peptidase activity. Taken together, our finding suggests S. bescii and S. vermifera have the metabolic capacity for nitrogen assimilation from organic forms of N compounds. We hypothesize that the nitrogen metabolite repression is a key regulator of such organic N assimilation.

New neotyphodium endophyte species from the grass tribes stipeae and meliceae.

Several species of Achnatherum (grass tribe Stipeae) and Melica (tribe Meliceae) typically are infected by nonpathogenic, seed-transmissible fungi with characteristics of Neotyphodium species (anamorphic Clavicipitaceae). Molecular phylogenetic studies clearly have distinguished the endophytes from Achnatherum inebrians (from Xinjiang Province, China), A. robustum and A. eminens (both from North America) and indicate that the A. inebrians endophyte comprises a unique nonhybrid lineage within the Epichloe and Neotyphodium phylogeny, whereas the endophytes of A. robustum, and A. eminens are hybrids with multiple EpichlooY species (holomorphic Clavicipitaceae) as ancestors. Likewise distinct hybrid origins are indicated for Neotyphodium species from the European Melica species, M. ciliata and M. transsilvanica, the South African species M. decumbens and M. racemosa, and the South American species M. stuckertii. Neotyphodium species have been described from A. inebrians from Gansu Province, China, (N. gansuense), A. eminens (N. chisosum), M. stuckertii (N. tembladerae) and the South African Melica species (N. melicicola). However the endophytes from A. robustum and the European Melica species have not been described and the phylogenetic relationships of N. gansuense have not been investigated. Here we report a comprehensive study of morphological features and phylogenetic analyses of beta -tubulin and actin gene sequences on an expanded collection of endophytes from the Stipeae and Meliceae. These data provide a firm foundation for the description of two new Neotyphodium species, N. guerinii from M. ciliata and M. transsilvanica, and N. funkii from A. robustum. We also propose the new variety, N. gansuense var. inebrians for endophytes of A. inebrians from Xinjiang Province, which are morphologically and phylogenetically distinct from, yet clearly related to, N. gansuense from Gansu Province.

Toward a Resilient, Functional Microbiome: Drought Tolerance-Alleviating Microbes for Sustainable Agriculture.

In recent years, the utilization of novel sequencing techniques opened a new field of research into plant microbiota and was used to explore a wide diversity of microorganisms both inside and outside of plant host tissues, i.e., the endosphere and rhizosphere, respectively. An early realization from such research was that species richness and diversity of the plant microbiome are both greater than believed even a few years ago, and soil is likely home to the most abundant and diverse microbial habitats known. In most ecosystems sampled thus far, overall microbial complexity is determined by the combined influences of plant genotype, soil structure and chemistry, and prevailing environmental conditions, as well as the native "bulk soil" microbial populations from which membership is drawn. Beneficial microorganisms, traditionally referring primarily to nitrogen-fixing bacteria, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, and mycorrhizal fungi, play a key role in major functions such as plant nutrition acquisition and plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses . Utilization of plant-associated microbes in food production is likely to be critical for twenty-first century agriculture, where arable cropland is limited and food, fiber, and feed productivity must be sustained or even improved with fewer chemical inputs and less irrigation.

Rhizosphere Sampling Protocols for Microbiome (16S/18S/ITS rRNA) Library Preparation and Enrichment for the Isolation of Drought Tolerance-Promoting Microbes.

Natural plant microbiomes are abundant and have a remarkably robust composition, both as epiphytes on the plant surface and as endophytes within plant tissues. Microbes in the former "habitat" face limited nutrients and harsh environmental conditions, while those in the latter likely lead a more sheltered existence. The most populous and diverse of these microbiomes are associated with the zone around the plant roots, commonly referred to as the rhizosphere. A majority of recent studies characterize these plant-associated microbiomes by community profiling of bacteria and fungi, using amplicon-based marker genes and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Here, we collate a group of protocols that incorporate current best practices and optimized methodologies for sampling, handling of samples, and rRNA library preparation for variable regions of V5-V6 and V9 of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, and the ITS2 region joining the 5.8S and 28S regions of the fungal rRNA gene. Samples collected for such culture-independent analyses can also be used for the actual isolation of microbes of interest, perhaps even those identified by the libraries described above. One group of microbes that holds promise for mediating plant stress incurred by drought are bacteria that are capable of reducing or eliminating the plant's perception of the stress through degradation of the gaseous plant hormone ethylene, which is abundantly produced in response to drought stimuli. This is accomplished by some types of soil bacteria that can produce the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, which is the immediate precursor to ethylene. Here we provide a high-throughput protocol for screening of ACC deaminase-producing bacteria for the applied purpose of mitigating the impact of plant drought stress.

Non-targeted Colonization by the Endomycorrhizal Fungus, Serendipita vermifera, in Three Weeds Typically Co-occurring with Switchgrass.

Serendipita vermifera (=Sebacina vermifera; isolate MAFF305830) is a mycorrhizal fungus originally isolated from the roots of an Australian orchid that we have previously shown to be beneficial in enhancing biomass yield and drought tolerance in switchgrass, an important bioenergy crop for cellulosic ethanol production in the United States. However, almost nothing is known about how this root-associated fungus proliferates and grows through the soil matrix. Such information is critical to evaluate the possibility of non-target effects, such as unintended spread to weedy plants growing near a colonized switchgrass plant in a field environment. A microcosm experiment was conducted to study movement of vegetative mycelia of S. vermifera between intentionally inoculated switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and nearby weeds. We constructed size-exclusion microcosms to test three different common weeds, large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis L.), Texas panicum (Panicum texanum L.), and Broadleaf signalgrass (Brachiaria platyphylla L.), all species that typically co-occur in Southern Oklahoma and potentially compete with switchgrass. We report that such colonization of non-target plants by S. vermifera can indeed occur, seemingly via co-mingled root systems. As a consequence of colonization, significant enhancement of growth was noted in signalgrass, while a mild increase (albeit not significant) was evident in crabgrass. Migration of the fungus seems unlikely in root-free bulk soil, as we failed to see transmission when the roots were kept separate. This research is the first documentation of non-targeted colonization of this unique root symbiotic fungus and highlights the need for such assessments prior to deployment of biological organisms in the field.

RacA-Mediated ROS Signaling Is Required for Polarized Cell Differentiation in Conidiogenesis of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Conidiophore development of fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus involves dynamic changes in cellular polarity and morphogenesis. Synchronized differentiation of phialides from the subtending conidiophore vesicle is a good example of the transition from isotropic to multi-directional polarized growth. Here we report a small GTPase, RacA, which is essential for reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the vesicle as well as differentiation of phialides in Aspergillus fumigatus. We found that wild type A. fumigatus accumulates ROS in these conidiophore vesicles and that null mutants of racA did not, resulting in the termination of conidiophore development in this early vesicle stage. Further, we found that stress conditions resulting in atypical ROS accumulation coincide with partial recovery of phialide emergence but not subsequent apical dominance of the phialides in the racA null mutant, suggesting alternative means of ROS generation for the former process that are lacking in the latter. Elongation of phialides was also suppressed by inhibition of NADPH-oxidase activity. Our findings provide not only insights into role of ROS in fungal cell polarity and morphogenesis but also an improved model for the developmental regulatory pathway of conidiogenesis in A. fumigatus.