Fungal Community Of Healthy Leaf And Flower Of Illicium Verum And Its Pollinators, Gall Midges

Illicium verum (Schisandraceae), a valuable tree with important ecological function, is native to northern Vietnam and southern China including Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces. Illicium yerum, Gall midges and some fungi has been proved to be intimate symbiont relationship and symbiont fungi influence to gall midges greatly. The epiphytic and endophytic fungi of I. verum are highly diverse and with importantly ecological functions. In this study, diversity, population component and ecological distribution of epiphytic and endophytic fungi of the healthy leaves, flowers and gall midges collected from different yield plantation of I. Verum were analysed, to investigate the relation between fruit production of I. verum and epiphytic and endophytic fungi of I. verum and gall midges.A total of4022fungal isolates were obtained from4800tissue fragments, of which820isolates were epiphytic fungi of leaves, while841isolates were endophytic fungi of leaves;898isolates were epiphytic fungi of flowers, while800isolates were endophytic fungi of flowers;231isolates were isolated from the surfaces of white gall midges, while87isolates were isolated from the inner healthy tissues of white gall midges;229isolates were isolated from the surfaces of red gall midges, while116isolates were isolated from the inner healthy tissues of red gall midges. Among these4022isolates,3530(87.8%) isolates sporulated and were identified into27taxa based on morphological characteristics. The remaining492(12.2%) isolates failed to sporulate were divided into121morphotypes according to cultural characteristics and classified into43taxa on the basis of ITS sequences. A total of70taxa were identified based on the morphological characters and molecular techniques. The colonization rates of superficial fungi of red and white gall midges were similar (95.4%vs95%). The colonization rates of the fungi from inner tissues of red and white gall midges were little different (42.9%vs35%). The colonization rates of epiphytic fungi andendophytic fungi of leaves were similar (79.8%vs84.9%). The colonization rates between epiphytic and endophytic fungi of flowers were little different (89.2%vs80.1%). Fungal colonization rates were no obviously different among different yield plantations. The fungal colonization rates of inner tissues of white and red gall midges were significantly different among different localities, of which the fungal colonization rates from No.1plot of high yield plantation in Liuwan Tree Farm, Aisha of Gaofeng Tree Farm and Jiepai of Gaofeng Tree Farm were relative higher than others.Shannon diversity indices of fungal community of plant tissues and gall midges from different plantations were compared and results were as the following:①The diversity index of superficial fungal community of white gall midges from high yield plantations (0) was smaller than that from low yield plantations (0.18) and the diversity index of innerly fungal community of white gall midges from high yield plantations (1.29) was larger than that from low yield plantations (1.25).②The diversity index of superficially fungal community of red gall midges from high and low yield plantations were equal (0), while the diversity index of endophytically fungal community of red gall midges from high yield plantations (1.57) was larger than that from low yield plantations (1.46).③The diversity index of epiphytically fungal community of flowers from both yield plantations were equally (0.36); the diversity index of the endophytically fungal community of flowers from high yield plantations (1.84) was smaller than that from low yield plantations (1.93).④The diversity index of the epiphytically fungal community of leaves from high yield plantations (2.97) was larger than that from low yield plantations (2.53); the diversity index of the endophytically fungal community of leaves from high yield plantations (1.3) was larger than that from low yield plantations (0.36).Among4022fungal isolates isolated from Illicium verum and gall midges,2116isolates were members of Ascomycota (52.6%),1436isolates of which were members of Sordariomycetes (67.9%, dominant members of Ascomycota) and1888isolates were the members of Zygomycota (46.9%),1840isolates of which were Rhizopus sp.(97.5%, dominant members of Zygomycota). Members of Zygomycota were dominant group among the superficial fungi and inner fungi of white gall midges, the superficial fungi of red gall midges and epiphytic fungi of flowers. Members of Eurotiomycetes were dominant group among the inner fungi of red gall midges. Members of Sordariomycetes were dominant group among the endophytic fungi of flowers, epiphytic and endophytic fungi of leaves. Atlas of NMDS was analysed and the result was as follows:Fungal community compositions of gall midges from high and low yield plantations were not significantly different and fungal community composition between flowers and leaves were not significantly different neither. Among the common fungal species (RF≥1%), Mucor fragilis, Nigrospora oryzae, Neofabraea sp., Xylaria sp. and Galactomyces sp. showed obvious tissue specificity. Fusarium solani and Bionectria sp.2showed strong host specificity, which was only isolated from tissues of gall midges. The common fungal species isolated from leaves and flowers collected from high and low yield plantations were not significantly different, but common fungal species from high yield plantations wer slightly more than that from low yield plantations.