Interaction between a dark septate endophytic isolate from Dendrobium sp. and roots of D. nobile seedlings

Interactions between an isolate of dark septate endophytes (DSE) and roots of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. seedlings are reported in this paper. The isolate was obtained from orchid mycorrhizas on Dendrobium sp. in subtropical forest. The fungus formed typical orchid mycorrhiza in aseptic co-culture with D. nobile seedlings on modified Murashige-Skoog (MMS) medium. Anatomic observations of the infected roots showed that the DSE hyphae invaded the velamen layer, passed through passage cells in exodermis, entered the cortex cells, and then formed fungal pelotons of orchid mycorrhiza. D. nobile seedlings' plant height, stem diameter, new roots number and biomass were greatly enhanced by inoculating the fungus to seedlings. The fungus was identified as Leptodontidium by sequencing the polymerase chain reaction-amplified rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (internal transcribed spacer (ITS)) regions and comparison with similar taxa.