Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species
Fungal endophytes are harboured in the leaves of every individual plant host and contribute to plant health, leaf senescence, and early decomposition. In grasslands, fungal endophytes and their hosts often coexist with large herbivores. However, the influence of grazing by large herbivores on foliar...
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Fungi |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/10/1016 |
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| author | Xin Dong Feifei Jiang Dongdong Duan Zhen Tian Huining Liu Yinan Zhang Fujiang Hou Zhibiao Nan Tao Chen |
| author_facet | Xin Dong Feifei Jiang Dongdong Duan Zhen Tian Huining Liu Yinan Zhang Fujiang Hou Zhibiao Nan Tao Chen |
| author_sort | Xin Dong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fungal endophytes are harboured in the leaves of every individual plant host and contribute to plant health, leaf senescence, and early decomposition. In grasslands, fungal endophytes and their hosts often coexist with large herbivores. However, the influence of grazing by large herbivores on foliar fungal endophyte communities remains largely unexplored. We conducted a long-term (18 yr) grazing experiment to explore the effects of grazing on the community composition and diversity of the foliar fungal endophytes of two perennial grassland species (i.e., <i>Artemisia capillaris</i> and <i>Stipa bungeana</i>) across one growing season. Grazing significantly increased the mean fungal alpha diversity of <i>A. capillaris</i> in the early season. In contrast, grazing significantly reduced the mean fungal alpha diversity of endophytic fungi of <i>S. bungeana</i> in the late season. Grazing, growing season, and their interactions concurrently structured the community composition of the foliar fungal endophytes of both plant species. However, growing season consistently outperformed grazing and environmental factors in shaping the community composition and diversity of both plant species. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the foliar endophytic fungal community diversity and composition differed in response to grazing between <i>A. capillaris</i> and <i>S. bungeana</i> during one growing season. The focus on this difference will enhance our understanding of grazing’s impact on ecological systems and improve land management practices in grazing regions. This variation in the effects of leaf nutrients and plant community characteristics on foliar endophytic fungal community diversity and composition may have a pronounced impact on plant health and plant–fungal interactions. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-ba233c23f1de4f5e910ac280bf8f860a2023-11-19T17:01:04ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2023-10-01910101610.3390/jof9101016Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland SpeciesXin Dong0Feifei Jiang1Dongdong Duan2Zhen Tian3Huining Liu4Yinan Zhang5Fujiang Hou6Zhibiao Nan7Tao Chen8State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Center for Grassland Microbiome, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaFungal endophytes are harboured in the leaves of every individual plant host and contribute to plant health, leaf senescence, and early decomposition. In grasslands, fungal endophytes and their hosts often coexist with large herbivores. However, the influence of grazing by large herbivores on foliar fungal endophyte communities remains largely unexplored. We conducted a long-term (18 yr) grazing experiment to explore the effects of grazing on the community composition and diversity of the foliar fungal endophytes of two perennial grassland species (i.e., <i>Artemisia capillaris</i> and <i>Stipa bungeana</i>) across one growing season. Grazing significantly increased the mean fungal alpha diversity of <i>A. capillaris</i> in the early season. In contrast, grazing significantly reduced the mean fungal alpha diversity of endophytic fungi of <i>S. bungeana</i> in the late season. Grazing, growing season, and their interactions concurrently structured the community composition of the foliar fungal endophytes of both plant species. However, growing season consistently outperformed grazing and environmental factors in shaping the community composition and diversity of both plant species. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the foliar endophytic fungal community diversity and composition differed in response to grazing between <i>A. capillaris</i> and <i>S. bungeana</i> during one growing season. The focus on this difference will enhance our understanding of grazing’s impact on ecological systems and improve land management practices in grazing regions. This variation in the effects of leaf nutrients and plant community characteristics on foliar endophytic fungal community diversity and composition may have a pronounced impact on plant health and plant–fungal interactions.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/10/1016foliar endophytic fungal communitygrasslandgrazingplant community characteristicplant nutrientseasonal trajectory |
| spellingShingle | Xin Dong Feifei Jiang Dongdong Duan Zhen Tian Huining Liu Yinan Zhang Fujiang Hou Zhibiao Nan Tao Chen Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species Journal of Fungi foliar endophytic fungal community grassland grazing plant community characteristic plant nutrient seasonal trajectory |
| title | Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species |
| title_full | Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species |
| title_fullStr | Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species |
| title_short | Contrasting Effects of Grazing in Shaping the Seasonal Trajectory of Foliar Fungal Endophyte Communities on Two Semiarid Grassland Species |
| title_sort | contrasting effects of grazing in shaping the seasonal trajectory of foliar fungal endophyte communities on two semiarid grassland species |
| topic | foliar endophytic fungal community grassland grazing plant community characteristic plant nutrient seasonal trajectory |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/10/1016 |
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