Phialocephala scopiformis 22E1
Originally isolated in eastern Quebec, this conifer needle
endophyte produces the potent anti-insectan metabolite rugulosin.
Infected trees are more tolerant to spruce budworm, a serious
insect pest of forests in northeastern US and eastern Canada.
Spruce budworm damage results in profound habitat disturbance and
reduces the sustainable wood supply. In recent years, millions of
conifer seedlings in New Brunswick have been inoculated with this
strain (and others from the Acadian forest) in production
nurseries. Studies in nurseries and under field conditions
demonstrate that the growth rate of the insect pest is reduced,
thus exposing the larvae to increased disease and predation by
birds, reducing the damage to the tree. This genomic data will be
useful for decades to enable studies of fungal genome evolution,
fungal genotyping, and host-endophyte evolutionary genomics.
Genome Reference(s)
Walker AK, Frasz SL, Seifert KA, Miller JD, Mondo SJ, LaButti K, Lipzen A, Dockter RB, Kennedy MC, Grigoriev IV, Spatafora JW
Full Genome of Phialocephala scopiformis DAOMC 229536, a Fungal Endophyte of Spruce Producing the Potent Anti-Insectan Compound Rugulosin.
Genome Announc. 2016 Feb 25;4(1):. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.01768-15
Frasz, S. L., Walker, A. K., Nsiama, T. K., Adams, G. W., &
Miller, J. D. (2014). Distribution of the foliar fungal endophyte
Phialocephala scopiformis and its toxin in the crown of a mature
white spruce tree as revealed by chemical and qPCR analyses.
Canadian Journal of Forest Research 44(9): 1138-1143.
Miller, J. D., Cherid, H., Sumarah, M. W., & Adams, G. W.
(2009). Horizontal transmission of the Picea glauca foliar
endophyte Phialocephala scopiformis CBS 120377. Fungal Ecology,
2(2): 98-101.
Miller J.D., Mackenzie S., Foto M., Adams G.W., & Findlay J.A.
(2002). Needles of white spruce inoculated with rugulosin-producing
endophytes contain rugulosin reducing spruce budworm growth rate.
Mycological Research 106:471-479.
Miller, J. D., Sumarah, M. W., & Adams, G. W. (2008). Effect of
a rugulosin-producing endophyte in Picea glauca on Choristoneura
fumiferana. Journal of chemical ecology 34(3): 362-368.
Sumarah M.W., Miller J.D., & Adams G.W. (2005). Measurement of
a rugulosin-producing endophyte in white spruce seedlings.
Mycologia 97:770-776.
