What can possibly go wrong? The risk of introducing soil microorganism from Antactica into South America

NUÑEZ M.A., DIMARCO, R.D., DICKIE, I.A., PAUCHARD, A.

BOSQUE (VALDIVIA)

UNIV AUSTRAL CHILE

Lugar: Valdivia; Año: 2015

0304-8799

Endophytic fungi form mutualistic associations with plant roots which can increase plant survival and resistance to stress. Recently,it has been proposed that endophytic fungi from Antarctica should be used to facilitate reintroduction and establishment of nativeplants in xeric environments of northern Chile. In this note, we suggest this is a risky proposition and may lead to biologicalinvasions. It is difficult to predict which endophytic fungi will become invasive, where they will invade, or what their impacts willbe. Organisms that move across continents may or may not become invasive depending on the interaction between the species and theinvaded community; unexpected outcomes may occur due to adaptation and novel interactions of the introduced species in the newenvironment. The fact that these endophytes are mutualistic does not imply that they will not have negative effects on the recipientcommunity, since they might promote invasion of other non-native species or may change the competitive relationships among nativespecies. Further, taxonomically uncharacterized fungal isolates from plant roots are likely to contain non-beneficial species. The factthat these endophytic fungi species are from Antarctica does not ensure that they cannot invade elsewhere. It should be recognizedthat invasive microorganisms are extremely difficult to control. We strongly suggest that the further translocation, use and spreadof endophytes from Antarctica should be halted until a risk assessment is undertaken. Biosecurity measures must be taken whenconsidering transcontinental experiments. Based on previous experiences, it is likely that the risk and potential costs of introducingthese new species significantly exceed any potential benefits of their introductions.