Phenotypic characterization of Mountain Pine Beetle fungal symbionts under a temperature gradient
department or school: Forestry, Faculty of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Zhang, Yiyuan
issued: 2019-12-24T21:46:50Z
issued: 2019
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The Mountain pine beetle (MPB) has symbiotic relationships with Ophiostomatoid fungi (Ophiostomatales, Ascomycota), also known as blue stain fungi. The fungal symbionts associated with MPB contribute to the success of beetle survival, reproduction and outbreaks by providing a number of benefits to beetles. The multi-partite mutualism between fungi and MPB has remained remarkably stable over a long period of evolutionary time without exhibiting strong direct competition. We hypothesize that niche partitioning is a stabilizing mechanism which is important for the maintenance of coexistence and diversity of fungal species. The interspecific and intraspecific phenotypic characteristics of three fungal symbionts from a wide geographic and environmental range were investigated under different temperatures in vitro. The study found that three fungal species are differentially adapted to temperatures. The interspecific comparison indicates that Grosmannia clavigera and Leptographium longiclavatum were able to grow better at lower temperatures than Ophistoma montium, while Ophistoma montium displayed greater tolerance to extreme high temperatures. The intraspecific variation within species showed that isolates of the same species from different genetic groups have different temperature tolerances. Leptographium longiclavatum exhibited greater variability in response to temperature than Grosmannia clavigera and Ophistoma montium. The phenotypic data agrees with the genetic population structures of three fungi species. My research indicated that differential temperature tolerances of three fungal species may mediate competition among symbionts, thus influencing dynamics and compositions of the symbiosis in naturally attacked trees. Different growth responses to variable environmental conditions allow the competing species to capture resources at different times without expending energy on direct competition. By maintaining multipartite relationships with these fungi species, b…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/72989
note: PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF MOUNTAIN PINE BEETLE FUNGAL SYMBIONTS UNDER A TEMPERATURE GRADIENT by YIYUAN ZHANG B.Sc., The University of British Columbia, 2014 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Forestry) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2019 © Yiyuan Zhang, 2019 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: Phenotypic characterization of Mountain Pine Beetle fungal symbionts under a temperature gradient submitted by Yiyuan Zhang in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Forestry Examining Committee: Richard Hamelin Supervisor Yousry El-Kassaby Supervisory Committee Member Christopher P Chanway Supervisory Committee Member Nicolas Feau Additional Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Supervisory Committee Member Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract The Mountain pine beetle (MPB) has symbiotic relationships with Ophiostomatoid fungi (Ophiostomatales, Ascomycota), also known as blue stain fungi. The fungal symbionts associated with MPB contribute to the success of beetle survival, reproduction and outbreaks by providing a number of benefits to beetles. The multi-partite mutualism between fungi and MPB has remained remarkably stable over a long period of evolutionary time without exhibiting strong direct competition. We hypothesize that niche partitioning is a stabilizing mechanism which is important for the maintenance of coexistence and diversity of fungal species. The interspecific and intraspecific phenotypic characteristics of three fungal symbionts from a wide geographic and environmental range were investigated under different temperatures in vitro. The study found that three fungal species are differentially adapted to temperatures. The inter…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2020-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0387356
language: eng
degree discipline: Forestry
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/72989