Tremellomycetes Yeasts in Kernel Ecological Niche: Early Indicators of Enhanced Competitiveness of Endophytic and Mycoparasitic Symbionts against Wheat Pathobiota.

Tremellomycetes rDNA sequences previously detected in wheat kernels by MiSeq were not reliably assigned to a genus or clade. From comparisons of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and subsequent phylogenetic analyses, the following three basidiomycetous yeasts were resolved and identified: , and an undescribed rDNA variant. The variant's clade is evolutionarily close to, but phylogenetically distinct from, the clade. These three yeasts were discovered in wheat kernel samples from the Canadian prairies. Variations in relative species abundances coincided with altered wheat kernel weight, as well as host resistance to chemibiotrophic (Common bunt-CB) and necrotrophic (Fusarium head blight-FHB) pathogens. Wheat kernel weight was influenced by the coexistence of with endophytic plant growth-promoting and mycoparasitic biocontrol fungi that were acquired by plants. Kernels were coated with beneficial endophyte and mycoparasite, each of which had different influences on the wild yeast population. Its integral role in the kernel microbiome renders a measurable indicator of the microbiome-plant interaction. The ability of NGS technology to detect specific endophytic DNA variants and early changes in dynamics among symbionts within the kernel ecological niche enables the prediction of crop disease emergence, suggesting that advanced microbiological testing may be a potentially useful tool for both phytoprotection and more efficient wheat breeding programs.