Variation in fungal endophyte populations in needles of the genus Pinus

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Abstract
Endophytic fungi were isolated from the needles of 45 species and varieties of the genus Pinus planted in an arboretum, and the species composition of the endophytes were compared among the pines examined. In general, Leptostroma spp. and Cenangium ferruginosum Fr. ex Fr. were dominant in the middle segment of the needle, while on the basal segment, Phialocephala sp. was more frequently isolated than the other two taxa. Leptostroma spp. seemed to be excluded from the basal segment by Phialocephala sp. The endophytic mycobiota of pines belonging to the same taxonomic group was similar. The taxonomic affinities of the host pines strongly affected the colonization patterns of the endophytes, while the effects of factors such as sampling date, tree age, and location in the stand were much weaker. Keywords: endophytic fungi, Pinus, host preference.