Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) is a species of high ecological importance in Mediterranean Basin and has high relevance for Portuguese economy due to cork production and processing. The sustainability of cork oak is currently being threatened by reduction of water availability that would increase the occurrence of diseases. Charcoal disease, caused by the fungus Biscogniauxia mediterrânea, leads to death of the
tree. Diplodia corticola is involved in various diseases considered responsible for the decline of cork oak
in Mediterranean Basin. To identify endophytic fungi in cork oak, including these opportunistic
pathogens, four sites of continental Portugal (Bragança, Geres, Alcobaça and Grândola) with differences
in water availability were selected to carry out the collection of biological material. The community of
fungal endophytes of leaves, st^ms and roots was evaluated. The roots displayed a more diverse fungal
community than the aboveground organs. Although no disease symptoms were detected in studied cork
oaks, the referred pathogenic fungi were essentially affecting stems and leaves. In general, Grândola
presented the highest colonization frequency and diversity of endophytes, while Alcobaça had the
lowest. From ali studied sites, cork oaks from Geres showed the most distinct community and did not
presentthose pathogens. D. corticola only infected southern regions, while S. mediterrânea also infected
trees in Bragança. The exclusive presence of both pathogens in aboveground organs and the absence of
visible disease symptoms in ali studied cork oaks encourage the searching of adequate biocontrol agents
from the endophytic community for restricting these diseases in cork oak.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Costa, Daniela; Cunha, João; Tavares, Rui Manuel; Baptista, Paula; Lino-Neto, Teresa (2017). Diversity of fungal endophytic community in Quercus suber L. and detection of opportunistic phytopathogenic fungi. In 15th Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union, “Plant Health Sustaining Mediterranean Ecosystems”. Cordoba