Pathogens are hypothesized to play an important role in the maintenance of tropical forest
plant species richness. Notably, species richness may be promoted by incomplete filling of …

Roots and leaves comprise two of the largest microbial habitats on Earth, particularly in
tropical forests where root and leaf surface areas are extremely high and microbes are …

Every plant species examined to date harbors endophytic fungi within its asymptomatic
aerial tissues, such that endophytes represent a ubiquitous, yet cryptic, component of …

While the ecological importance of plant pathogenic fungi, decay fungi, and root symbionts
is becoming well established in tropical biology, the contributions of one major group of …

Fungal symbioses affect the diversity, dynamics, and spatial patterns of trees in tropical
forests. Their ecological importance is partly driven by their inherent patchiness. We used …

It is increasingly recognized that macro-organisms (corals, insects, plants, vertebrates)
consist of both host tissues and multiple microbial symbionts that play essential roles in their …

Plant pathogens affect the fitness of their hosts and maintain biodiversity. However, we lack
theories to predict the type and intensity of infections in wild plants. Here we demonstrate …

Fungal endophytes are ubiquitous fungi that inhabit healthy plant tissues without causing
disease. Endophytes have been found in every plant species examined to date and may be …

Fungal endophytes inhabit healthy tissues of all terrestrial plant taxa studied to date and are
diverse and abundant in leaves of tropical woody angiosperms. Studies have demonstrated …

Understanding how species-rich communities persist is a foundational question in ecology.
In tropical forests, tree diversity is structured by edaphic factors, climate, and biotic …