Distribution of Fusarium species by weed host and geographic location

Endophytic fungi live within plants without causing obvious disease symptoms. Weeds growing near agricultural fields can harbor these fungi and serve as alternative hosts. We isolated endophytic fungi from 6 species of symptomless weeds common to eastern Croatia: velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), redroot amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus), annual ragweed (Ambrosia arthemisiifolia), lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) and rough cocklebur (Xantium strumarium), from eight different locations and identified 11 Fusarium species inhabiting them: F. avenaceum, F. acuminatum, F. equiseti, F. graminearum, F. oxysporum, F. proliferatum, F. semitectum, F. solani, F. subglutinans, F. venenatum and F. verticillioides. The aim of this research was to determine fungal species and frequency of isolation for each weed, together with geographical distribution. We have found a significant difference between mycoflora of the same weed species present at different locations. These results suggest that there is a link between endophytic fungi, its weed host and habitat.