Climate warming dominates over plant genotype in shaping the seasonal trajectory of foliar fungal communities on oak

Maria Faticov*, Ahmed Abdelfattah, Tomas Roslin, Corinne Vacher, Peter Hembäck, Guillaume Blanchet, Björn D. Lindahl, Ayco J.M. Tack

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Leaves interact with a wealth of microorganisms. Among these, fungi are highly diverse and are known to contribute to plant health, leaf senescence and early decomposition. However, patterns and drivers of the seasonal dynamics of foliar fungal communities are poorly understood. We used a multifactorial experiment to investigate the influence of warming and tree genotype on the foliar fungal community on the pedunculate oak Quercus robur across one growing season. Fungal species richness increased, evenness tended to decrease, and community composition strongly shifted during the growing season. Yeasts increased in relative abundance as the season progressed, while putative fungal pathogens decreased. Warming decreased species richness, reduced evenness and changed community composition, especially at the end of the growing season. Warming also negatively affected putative fungal pathogens. We only detected a minor imprint of tree genotype and warming × genotype interactions on species richness and community composition. Overall, our findings demonstrate that warming plays a larger role than plant genotype in shaping the seasonal dynamics of the foliar fungal community on oak. These warming-induced shifts in the foliar fungal community may have a pronounced impact on plant health, plant–fungal interactions and ecosystem functions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1770-1783
Number of pages14
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume231
Issue number5
Early online date7 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2021

Keywords

  • climate warming
  • community composition
  • foliar fungal community
  • host genotype
  • Quercus robur
  • seasonal dynamics
  • warming × genotype interaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Plant Science

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