Endophytic fungal community structure in olive orchards with high and low incidence of olive anthracnose

Abstract

Fungal endophytes have been increasingly recognized to promote host plant protection to pathogens, but knowledge of the multiple effects that they could have in crop diseases is still scarce. This work attempts to understand the role of fungal endophytes in crop diseases, specifically in reducing disease development and interfering on lifestyle transition of the pathogen. To accomplish this, the endophytic fungal community of reproductive organs of olive tree from two orchards showing different levels of anthracnose incidence, a major disease of olive fruits, was characterized and compared between them. The two orchards showed distinct endophytic communities, differing in species richness, abundance and composition, with highest isolation rates and richness of endophytes in the orchard with low anthracnose incidence. These differences among orchards were greater on fruits than on flowers, suggesting that these changes in endophytic fungal composition may influence the lifestyle shifts in pathogen (from latent to pathogen). A number of fungal taxa were found to be positively associated to one of the two orchards. The fungal endophytes best correlated with high incidence of anthracnose are pathogens, while endophytes-associated to low anthracnose incidence are described to protect plants. Altogether, the results suggest varying pathogen–endophyte interactions among the two orchards.