Harnessing phytobiomes to mitigate forest tree diseases: Douglas-fir and Swiss needle cast

Funding period: 2020-2024
Lead: Joey Tanney
Total GRDI funding: $179,220

This project's key objectives include: (1) identifying toxigenic/antagonistic fungal endophyte species or consortia associated with reduced Swiss needle cast (SNC) symptoms in Douglas-fir; (2) isolating and characterizing bioactive secondary metabolites produced by endophyte strains; (3) elucidating Douglas-fir needle mycobiomes, including generating reference sequences and describing novel taxa when feasible; (4) assessing the application of Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencing for real-time, high-throughput quantification of needle endophyte communities; and (5) establishing a panel of candidate endophyte strains for downstream inoculation tests to control SNC. The expected socio-economic benefits include improved knowledge of SNC, informing BC tree improvement efforts to increase SNC tolerance, and identifying potential management strategies (e.g. biological control, horizontally-transferred tolerance). These outcomes will help mitigate economic and environmental effects from this increasingly severe disease, which significantly reduces Douglas-fir growth and challenges regeneration efforts.