Seed fungal endophytes play a crucial role in assisting the overall health and success of their host plant; however, little is known about the factors that influence the diversity and composition of these endophytes, particularly with respect to how they change over time and within urban environments. Using culturing techniques, morphological analyses, and Sanger sequencing, we identified the culturable seed fungal endophytes of Banksia ericifolia at two urban and two natural sites in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A total of 27 Operational Taxonomic Units were obtained from 1200 seeds. Older cones were found to contain, on average, more colonised endophytes than younger cones. Species richness was also significantly influenced by cone age, with older cones being more speciose. Between urban and natural sites, the overall community composition did not change, although species richness and diversity were greatest at urban sites. Understanding how these endophytes vary in time and s
Seed fungal endophytes play an important beneficial role in the formation of the seedling mycobiome and contribute to plant establishment, but can also occur as latent pathogens and saprotrophs. Current knowledge on the function and diversity of seed fungal endophytes has been gained through studies in agricultural systems whilst knowledge from natural systems is relatively less. We used two co-occurring species from the genus Banksia from four sites in Australia's Sydney Basin Bioregion to investigate the abundance and diversity of seed fungal endophyte communities present in natural ecosystem hosts. Based on results from culturing and DNA sequence analysis of multiple loci, we found that Banksia seeds house a diverse range of fungal endophyte species, that when assigned to functional guilds belonged to multiple trophic modes. Thirty-one of the fungal taxa identified had not been previously reported as endophytes. Amongst the 58 Operational Taxonomic Units identified, Leotiomycet
Biodiversity loss worldwide is occurring at an alarming rate due to the continual and increasing influence of anthropogenic disturbances. Understanding how species shift and adapt in these changing urbanised environments while also changing over time is extremely important when considering future ex-situ restoration and renewal practices. Seed fungal endophytes (SFE) comprise a large hidden component of ecosystem diversity and provide plants with a variety of benefits, although major knowledge gaps exist regarding the influence on SFE movement and diversity within both the natural and urbanised environments. Using culturing techniques, morphological analyses and Sanger sequencing, I identified the culturable SFE community of the common native Banksia ericifolia (B. ericifolia) at two urban and two natural sites in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. I investigated the influence of both spatial and temporal factors on the diversity and composition of these SFE communities. Between old a