Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) is an invasive spring ephemeral in the northeastern United States and the Pacific Northwest. The mechanisms behind the variable success of this pervasive invasive species has been largely unknown. One possible mechanism behind the performance of lesser celandine is the presence of beneficial fungal-root associations. This study focuses on determining the community composition and influence of endophytic root fungi colonization on the success of lesser celandine. We hypothesized that plant performance (biomass and reproductive output) would be driven by community composition of endophytic root fungi. Eight sites invaded by lesser celandine were chosen in Rocky River Reservation, Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio. At each site, eight samples (n=64) were collected every 5 meters along a 35-meter transect placed perpendicular from the river. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and cloning were used in conjunction to determine the differences in the community composition of endophytic root colonization for each site. These results were then compared to plant biomass and reproductive output to determine differences in plant success across test sites.
Results/Conclusions
We determined lesser celandine that was colonized by fungal communities consisting of parasitic fungal endophytes, ericoid mycorrhizae, and dark septate endophytes had an average higher biomass (0.63 g) than plants that were colonized by general root endophyte communities (0.29 g) (t-test, df = 60.9, P < 0.0001). However, fungal colonization was not associated with differences in the reproductive output of lesser celandine (t-test, df = 61.8, P > 0.05). This indicates that fungal community composition and colonization influences the biomass of lesser celandine which, can be linked to the success of this invasive. Further analyses should be conducted to determine the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizae and its influence on the success of lesser celandine in conjunction with general fungal endophytes.