Tripsacum dactyloides: A native plant model to study microbial contributions to local adaptation and drought tolerance

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Ceyda Kural, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS and Maggie Wagner, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Background/Question/Methods
The North American tallgrass prairie is a relatively understudied ecosystem that is increasingly threatened as global climate change increases average temperatures and drought frequency. Fire suppression, plowing under of native grasses, and the replacement of native plants with monoculture has altered the indigenous soil and plant microbial communities. Tripsacum dactyloides (Eastern gamagrass) is a perennial, drought tolerant grass native to the tallgrass prairie. Associated microbial communities, specifically fungal endophytes, assist in the ability to adapt to extreme environmental conditions for many grasses. However, the extent to which the microbiome of T. dactyloides contributes to its drought tolerance is unknown. Approximately 160 specimens of T. dactyloides were collected from native populations in the central states, across an east-west precipitation gradient, particularly present in Kansas and Oklahoma. Samples were examined for density of fungal endophytes from root and leaf tissue. Because fungal endophytes have been previously established to confer drought tolerant capabilities to their host plants, we expect to find higher densities of fungal endophytes in plants from western, drier regions, compared to plants from eastern, wetter regions.
Results/Conclusions
Preliminary results have confirmed this for plants collected across Oklahoma and Kansas (P=0.02). The use of T. dactyloides as a drought resistant species can help ensure healthy tall grass prairie function and findings from this research can be applied to conservation work in this fragile ecosystem. A greater understanding of the symbiosis between plants and their microbial communities is essential for developing more tolerant crops as agricultural systems are impacted by global shifts in climate patterns.