Date of Submission

Spring 2021

Academic Program

Biology

Project Advisor 1

Cathy Collins

Abstract/Artist's Statement

To date, it's been commonly thought that endophytic bacteria and fungi have been horizontally transmitted onto the seed, however, vertical transmission from the parent plant to offspring (via seed) is becoming a more widespread phenomenon. Here, I explore the idea that vertically transmitted endophytic fungi exist in pre-dispersed seeds. It was also of interest to test whether fungi grown from these seeds influenced germination of their host, or seeds of other species. I find that E. rugosum, Solidago spp., and A. syriaca seeds harbor vertically transmitted endophytic fungi which morphologically appear to be of the same species. I find that Fungi isolated from E. rugosum seeds decreased germination of host seeds. I also further examine the relationship between fungi and non-host seeds by studying T. aestivum, R. sativus, and L. perenne seeds, and find that E. rugosum fungi and A. syriaca fungi can decrease germination in T. aestivum seeds.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
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