Fungal endophytes of the boreal biome

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Welcome to EnDoBiodiversity!

Endobiodiversity

Although the global diversity of fungi is estimated to far exceed 1,500,000 species, mycologists have described only ca. 100,000 species so far. The disparity largely reflects an immense but invisible richness that is hidden within other organisms through symbiosis. As major sources of ecological and evolutionary innovation, symbioses drive genome evolution, ecological diversification, and speciation, thereby shaping all dimensions of the diversity of life. 

Why study endophytes?

Endophytes are hyperdiverse at the species level, phylogenetically rich, ecologically important, evolutionarily dynamic, and represent an under-explored trove of taxonomic, genetic, and functional diversity. Estimated to comprise as many as 1 million species – less than 1% of which have been described to date -- endophytes have been found in every plant and lichen species, including wild-, crop- and forage plants in all terrestrial biomes sampled so far.