Jim White with
Carlos Spegazzini at the Instituto Spegazzini in La Plata, Argentina.
jwhite@aesop.rutgers.edu
Jim White with
Carlos Spegazzini at the Instituto Spegazzini in La Plata, Argentina.
jwhite@aesop.rutgers.edu
Fungal associates
of plants may play important roles in adapting plants to their environments.
Mycorrhizal associates of plant roots are often found to be critical in
enabling plants to survive in harsh environments. Recently, it has been
discovered that clavicipitaceous endophytic fungi of grasses may similarly
enhance adaptability of infected-grass individuals. In one project in my
laboratory, we are trying to examine diversity of fungi that have taken
to the endophytic niche. In this project we are employing molecular as
well as morphological techniques to examine the phylogenetic relationships
among endophytes isolated from plants. We are also interested in how endophytes
have evolved and spread to various continents. These biogeographic studies
involve collecting endophytes from various parts of the earth and comparing
DNA sequences to determine the evolutionary relationships between the endophytes.
This work should enable us to pinpoint the location of origin of endophytes.
In another project, we are examining the systematic relationships between
species, genera, tribes, and subfamilies of the Clavicipitaceae (Ascomycotina).
The host-symbiont relationships in the Clavicipitaceae is another area
of interest. In particular, we are interested in understanding how the
Clavicipitaceae induce plant hosts to release nutrients to the biotrophic
fungi. Unlike most biotrophs, members of the Clavicipitaceae do not possess
haustoria or other specialized structures for nutrient absorption. Thus
the mechanisms by which nutrients are extracted from hosts is a mystery.
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