Fungal endophytes can modulate plant invasion.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Plant Pathology
• Microbiology

Background:

• Microbial symbionts, particularly fungal endophytes, play a crucial role in plant success, influencing growth, population viability, and range expansion.
• Endophytes, asymptomatic microbial symbionts within plant tissues, can form mutualistic, commensal, or pathogenic relationships, with fungal endophytes being the most prevalent.
• The ecological dynamics of fungal endophytes during plant invasion are complex, with their functional roles potentially shifting across invasion stages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the community dynamics of fungal endophytes during plant invasion.
• To explore how the functional role of fungal endophytes shifts across different invasion stages (transport, introduction, establishment, spread).
• To identify how alien plants can exploit the context-dependent functions of endophytes in novel environments.

Main Methods:

• Literature review synthesizing existing research on fungal endophytes and plant invasion.
• Analysis of ecological filters at each invasion stage and their interaction with endophyte functions.
• Examination of endophyte transmission (vertical vs. horizontal) and community assembly in alien plants.

Main Results:

• Fungal endophytes can either facilitate or impede alien plant invasion by influencing host plant growth, reproduction, environmental tolerance, and defense against pathogens and herbivores.
• Endophyte function is context-dependent, varying with host identity, life stage, ecological conditions, and invasion stage.
• Endophytes can shift functional roles (e.g., from mutualistic to pathogenic) in alien hosts, altering plant community dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Alien plants can strategically exploit the context-dependent functions of fungal endophytes to enhance their invasion success in novel environments.
• Understanding endophyte-host-environment interactions is critical for predicting and managing plant invasions.
• The dynamic nature of endophyte function offers potential avenues for manipulating plant invasions.