Endophytic Fungi in Siberian Larch (larix Sibirica) Needles

SummaryEndophytic fungi were isolated from surface‐sterilized needles of the Siberian larch. Samples were collected from a native growing site of the Siberian larch in north‐western Russia and from sites in Russia, Finland and Iceland where the Siberian larch has been introduced. The isolated fungi were classified to operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using colony morphology and molecular characteristics. Needle colonization rates were 50–99% and in total 79 OTUs were found. There were five common OTUs, which covered 86.2% of all isolates. The most common OTU lacked from the youngest plantations in Finland (Solböle) and in Iceland (Kjarnaskógur). The highest similarity in regard to the frequency of OTUs occurred among the stands established long ago in Finland, and the UPGMA clustering using similarity indices separated the seven stands into two major groups.