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Article

The Diplodia Tip Blight Pathogen Sphaeropsis sapinea Is the Most Common Fungus in Scots Pines’ Mycobiome, Irrespective of Health Status—A Case Study from Germany

by
Kathrin Blumenstein
1,
Johanna Bußkamp
2,
Gitta Jutta Langer
2,
Ewald Johannes Langer
3 and
Eeva Terhonen
1,*
1
Forest Pathology Research Group, Department of Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Büsgenweg 2, Georg-August-University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2
Section Mycology and Complex Diseases, Department of Forest Protection, Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Grätzelstr. 2, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
3
Department of Ecology, Institute for Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences, Universität Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Straße 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Fungi 2021, 7(8), 607; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7080607
Submission received: 14 July 2021 / Revised: 23 July 2021 / Accepted: 26 July 2021 / Published: 27 July 2021
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Abstract

The opportunistic pathogen Sphaeropsis sapinea (≡Diplodia sapinea) is one of the most severe pathogens in Scots pine, causing the disease Diplodia tip blight on coniferous tree species. Disease symptoms become visible when trees are weakened by stress. Sphaeropsis sapinea has an endophytic mode in its lifecycle, making it difficult to detect before disease outbreaks. This study aims to record how S. sapinea accumulates in trees of different health status and, simultaneously, monitor seasonal and age-related fluctuations in the mycobiome. We compared the mycobiome of healthy and diseased Scots pines. Twigs were sampled in June and September 2018, and filamentous fungi were isolated. The mycobiome was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of the ITS2 region. A PERMANOVA analysis confirmed that the mycobiome community composition significantly differed between growth years (p < 0.001) and sampling time (p < 0.001) but not between healthy and diseased trees. Sphaeropsis sapinea was the most common endophyte isolated and the second most common in the HTS data. The fungus was highly abundant in symptomless (healthy) trees, presenting in its endophytic mode. Our results highlight the ability of S. sapinea to accumulate unnoticed as an endophyte in healthy trees before the disease breaks out, representing a sudden threat to Scots pines in the future, especially with increasing drought conditions experienced by pines.
Keywords: endophytes; mycobiome; MiSeq Illumina mycobiome; Pinus sylvestris; high-throughput sequencing (HTS); culture-based endophytic community endophytes; mycobiome; MiSeq Illumina mycobiome; Pinus sylvestris; high-throughput sequencing (HTS); culture-based endophytic community

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MDPI and ACS Style

Blumenstein, K.; Bußkamp, J.; Langer, G.J.; Langer, E.J.; Terhonen, E. The Diplodia Tip Blight Pathogen Sphaeropsis sapinea Is the Most Common Fungus in Scots Pines’ Mycobiome, Irrespective of Health Status—A Case Study from Germany. J. Fungi 2021, 7, 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7080607

AMA Style

Blumenstein K, Bußkamp J, Langer GJ, Langer EJ, Terhonen E. The Diplodia Tip Blight Pathogen Sphaeropsis sapinea Is the Most Common Fungus in Scots Pines’ Mycobiome, Irrespective of Health Status—A Case Study from Germany. Journal of Fungi. 2021; 7(8):607. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7080607

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blumenstein, Kathrin, Johanna Bußkamp, Gitta Jutta Langer, Ewald Johannes Langer, and Eeva Terhonen. 2021. "The Diplodia Tip Blight Pathogen Sphaeropsis sapinea Is the Most Common Fungus in Scots Pines’ Mycobiome, Irrespective of Health Status—A Case Study from Germany" Journal of Fungi 7, no. 8: 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7080607

APA Style

Blumenstein, K., Bußkamp, J., Langer, G. J., Langer, E. J., & Terhonen, E. (2021). The Diplodia Tip Blight Pathogen Sphaeropsis sapinea Is the Most Common Fungus in Scots Pines’ Mycobiome, Irrespective of Health Status—A Case Study from Germany. Journal of Fungi, 7(8), 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7080607

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