title: Endophytic fungi associated with leaves of Betulaceae in Japan.
abstract: Diversity and species composition of endophytic fungi on leaves of 11 tree species in Betulaceae were studied, with reference to climatic, tree species, and seasonal variations. A total of 186 fungal isolates were obtained from 190 leaves collected in a subalpine forest, a cool temperate forest, and a subtropical forest in Japan, and were divided into 46 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) according to the base sequences of D1-D2 region of large subunit rDNA. The 2 most frequent OTUs were  Muscodor  sp. and  Nemania  sp. in Xylariaceae, followed by  Gnomonia  sp.,  Glomerella acutata ,  Apiosporopsis  sp.,  Asteroma  sp., and  Cladosporium cladosporioides . The similarities of OTU composition in endophytic fungal assemblages on leaves of Betulaceae were generally low among the forests of different climatic regions. Fungal OTU compositions were relatively similar between 2  Betula  species in the subalpine forest, whereas 7 tree species in the cool temperate forest were divided into 3 groups according to the similarity of endophytic fungal assemblages on the leaves, with 4  Carpinus  species assigned into 2 of the 3 groups. The similarity of endophytic fungal assemblages between August and October was relatively high in the subalpine forest, whereas the seasonal changes were generally greater (i.e., the similarities among sampling dates were lower) in the cool temperate forest.
authors.affiliation: Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan. tosono@ecology.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osono
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masuya
mesh_terms: D029401:Betulaceae / Q000382:microbiology*; D002980:Climate; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D060026:Endophytes / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007564:Japan; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal