EMSL proposal "Characterizing the functional transition of endophytic fungi during plant senescence" approved!

In the proposed work, we will use newly designed fluorescence in situ hybridization probes coupled with mRNA in situ hybridization probes of key lignocellulose degrading enzymes to localize and characterize the enzymatic activity in situ by a model fungal endophyte - Lophodermium nitens - during three stages of fruiting body development in senescing pine needles. The three stages will be prepared to demonstrate the temporal and spatial dynamics of physiological and metabolic change by the fungal endophyte as well as the structural and chemical changes of the surrounding host plant cells during early stages of leaf senescence. These changes will be observed for the first time in situ using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy and analyzed with sequencing of whole transcriptomes. This study will also be the first to systematically investigate the functional role of a widespread and cryptic fungal symbiont with multiple cutting-edge resources. The results could transform the current paradigm of microbial community succession and function in litter and serve to explain a linkage between species diversity and major ecosystem processes, such as carbon cycling.