Effects of endophyte infection on the competitive ability of Achnatherum sibiricum depend on endophyte species and nitrogen availability

Abstract

Abstract Aims The leaves of almost all terrestrial plant species are colonized by endophytic fungi. Compared to agronomic grasses, which usually harbor few endophytes, native grasses generally possess greater endophyte species diversity. Existing studies examining endophyte effects on natural grasses under competition normally considered the infection status (infected or uninfected), and rarely considered endophyte species. Methods We examined the effects of endophyte infection and of endophyte species on the interspecific competitive ability of a subdominant species, Achnatherum sibiricum, at two nitrogen levels (high nitrogen and low nitrogen). Achnatherum sibiricum plants infected by two different species of endophyte (Epichloë sibirica and E. gansuensis) and uninfected plants were grown in monoculture and binary mixtures with a dominant species, Stipa grandis (six individuals per species for monocultures and three + three individuals of each species in mixtures). Shoot and root biomass, tiller number and total phenolic concentration were measured after 3 months. Moreover, the aggressivity index was calculated to compare the competitive ability of A. sibiricum relative to S. grandis. Important Findings Both E. gansuensis (Eg)- and E. sibirica (Es)-infected A. sibiricum plants showed a greater competitive ability than the uninfected plants under high nitrogen supply, while the opposite result occurred under low nitrogen supply. At high nitrogen levels, Eg plants had a higher tiller number and a greater shoot biomass inhibitory effect on S. grandis than Es plants had when growing in mixture, while Es plants showed better root growth performance than Eg and uninfected plants under mixture conditions at all nitrogen levels. A higher concentration of phenolic compounds in Eg plants than in Es plants might contribute to the higher inhibitory effect of Eg plants on competing plants. Our study indicates that the interaction between endophyte infection and nitrogen availability can alter the competitive ability of the host plant A. sibiricum but that these two endophyte species work in different ways, which may influence the coexistence of A. sibiricum with the dominant species.