Resumen de Endophytic mycobiota of Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa and its functionality
Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa (FRP) is a perennial grass that inhabits sea cliffs of the Atlantic coasts of Europe. In this unhospitable environment plants grow in rock crevices and are exposed to abiotic stress factors such as low nutrient availability, wind, and salinity. FRP is a host of the fungal endophyte Epichloë festucae, which colonizes aerial organs, but its root mycobiota is unknown. The main purpose of the thesis research was to describe the endophytic mycobiome from the host plant Festuca rubra subsp. pruinosa (FRP) from natural populations and to understand its role in the adaptation to salinity conditions. In addition to determining the incidence of Epichloë festucae, the culturable endophytic mycobiota of roots of FRP was investigated for the first time. Furthermore, the properties of the mycobiota in the adaptation of FRP to saline conditions were investigated at physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic levels. It was also evaluated the potential attributes of root endophytes for applications as plant growth-promoting agents and the improvement of tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses in non-host plants.
