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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Cork oak is a tree species with ecological importance that contributes to economic and social
development in the Mediterranean region. Cork oak decline is a major concern for forest sustainability
and has negative impacts on cork oak growth and production. This event has been increasingly
reported in the last decades and seems to be related with climate changes. Biscogniauxia
mediterranea is an endophytic fungus of healthy cork oak trees that turns into a pathogen in trees
weaken by environmental stress. Understanding the drivers of B. mediterranea populations diversity
and differentiation is expected to allow a better control of cork oak decline and preserve forest
sustainability. Endophyte isolates from different cork oak forests were identified as B. mediterranea
and their genetic diversity was evaluated using phylogenetic and microsatellite-primed PCR analyses.
Genetic diversity and variability of this fungus was correlated with environmental/phytosanitary
conditions present in forests/trees from which isolates were collected. High genetic diversity and
variability was found in B. mediterranea populations obtained from different forests, suggesting
some degree of isolation by distance. Bioclimate was the most significant effect that explained the
genetic variability of B. mediterranea, rather than precipitation or temperature intensities alone or
disease symptoms. These findings bring new implications for the changing climate to cork oak forests
sustainability, cork production and quality.
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Pedagogical Context
Citation
Costa, Daniela; Ramos, Vitor; Tavares, Rui M.; Baptista, Paula; Lino-Neto, Teresa (2022). Phylogenetic analysis and genetic diversity of the xylariaceous ascomycete Biscogniauxia mediterranea from cork oak forests in different bioclimates. Scientific Reports. ISSN 2045-2322. 12:1, p. 1-13
Publisher
Nature