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. 2012;90(9):10.1139/b2012-056.
doi: 10.1139/b2012-056.

Two new species of Undifilum, fungal endophytes of Astragalus (locoweeds) in the United States

Deana L Baucom  1 , Marie Romero, Robert Belfon, Rebecca Creamer
Affiliations

Two new species of Undifilum, fungal endophytes of Astragalus (locoweeds) in the United States

Deana L Baucom et al. Botany. 2012.

Abstract

New species of Undifilum, from locoweeds Astragalus lentiginosus Vitman and Astragalus mollissimus Torr., are described using morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analyses as Undifilum fulvum Baucom & Creamer sp. nov. and Undifilum cinereum Baucom & Creamer sp. nov. Fungi were isolated from dried plants of A. lentiginosus var. araneosus, diphysus, lentiginosus, and wahweapensis collected from Arizona, Oregon, and Utah, USA, and A. mollissimus var. biglovii, earleii, and mollissimus collected from New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, USA. Endophytic fungi from Astragalus locoweeds were compared to Undifilum oxytropis isolates obtained from dried plant material of Oxytropis lamberteii from New Mexico and Oxytropis sericea from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Extremely slow growth in vitro was observed for all, and conidia, if present, were ellipsoid with transverse septa. However, in vitro color, growth on four different media, and conidium size differed between fungi from Astragalus spp. and U. oxytropis. Neighbor-joining analyses of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) gene sequences revealed that U. fulvum and U. cinereum formed a clade distinct from U. oxytropis. This was supported by neighbor-joining analyses of results generated from random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fragments using two different primers.

Keywords: Astragalus lentiginosus; Astragalus mollissimus; Undifilum cinereum; Undifilum fulvum; fungal endophyte.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Undifilum species. (A) Undifilum oxytropis from Oxytropis sericea. (B–F) Undifilum fulvum from Astragalus lentiginosus. (G–J) Undifilum cinereum from A. mollissimus. (K–L) Conidia from Undifilum fulvum. (A–J) Cultures grown on potato dextrose agar. (K–L) Samples taken from cultures grown on water agar. Scale bars: A–J = 15 mm, K–L = 10 mm.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Neighbor-joining concatenated tree based on fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) sequences of endophytes isolated from Astragalus lentiginosus (Undifilum fulvum), A. mollissimus (U. cinereum), and Oxytropis spp. (U. oxytropis). Previously described specimens for U. oxytropis (L12) and U. bornmuelleri as well as closely related species Embellisia sp. included for comparison and as outgroup, respectively. Numbers following names at branch-tips are the number of isolates or sequences examined that had the same sequence, and GenBank Accession numbers of reference sequences. Bootstrap values based on 1000 replicates ≥50% indicated for major nodes.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Neighbor-joining tree based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns generated from primer OPR12 for fungal endophytes isolated from Astragalus lentiginosus (Undifilum fulvum), A. mollissimus (U. cinereum), and Oxytropis spp. (U. oxytropis). Labels following species are number of isolates examined for host and collection site corresponding to Table 1 codes. Bootstrap values based on 1000 replicates ≥50% indicated for major nodes.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Neighbor-joining tree based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns generated from primer OPA20 for fungal endophytes isolated from Astragalus lentiginosus (Undifilum fulvum), A. mollissimus (U. cinereum), and Oxytropis spp. (U. oxytropis). Labels following species are number of isolates examined for host and collection site corresponding to Table 1 codes. Bootstrap values based on 1000 replicates ≥50% indicated for major nodes.
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References

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