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Wheat (Triticum sp.) is a staple cereal crop, providing nearly a fifth of the world's protein and available calories. While fungi associated with wheat plants have been known for centuries, attention to fungi associated with wheat seeds has increased over the last hundred years. Initially, research focused on fungal taxa that cause seed‐borne diseases. Seeds act as a physical link between generations and host specialized fungal communities that affect seed dormancy, germination, quality, and disease susceptibility. Interest in beneficial, non‐disease‐causing fungal taxa associated with seeds has grown since the discovery of Epichloë in fescue, leading to a search for beneficial fungal endophytes in cereal grains. Recent studies of the wheat seed mycobiome have shown that disease, seed development, and temporal variation significantly influence the composition and structure of these fungal communities. This research, primarily descriptive, aims to better understand the wheat seed mycobiome's function in relation to the plant host. A deeper understanding of the wheat seed mycobiome's functionality may offer potential for microbiome‐assisted breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural history collections contain billions of specimens which are used to inform our understanding of the biodiversity of our planet. Digitized natural history collections (dNHCs) provide an accessible resource for multiple audiences, including K-12 teachers. The incorporation of dNHCs in K-12 classrooms provides an opportunity to engage students in authentic and practical science experiences. More importantly, through collaboration with museum educators the use of dNHCs can address some of the challenges K-12 teachers face when addressing the Next Generation Science Standards. Using primary data sources will ensure students understand the natural world through the perspective of scientific practices that involve data analyses, structured experiential and inquiry-based learning, and constructing explanations in a hypothesis-testing framework.

While fungi play a vital role in Earth's ecosystems, they are not highlighted in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This article contains a unit plan to introduce students to the fungal kingdom, characteristics of fungi, and their role as decomposers. The unit plan is written in a 5E model format and can be adjusted for any type of lesson planning format. Students explore fungi through hands-on activities, a jigsaw activity that makes use of collaborative learning, and analysis of case studies. Teachers can use this unit without a strong background in mycology, the study of fungi, or costly materials. A summative assessment is included at the end of the unit plan.

Take‐all root rot (TARR) is a detrimental disease of ultradwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × Cynodon transvaalensis; UDB) putting greens frequently diagnosed where warm‐season grasses are grown. Since this disease is largely aggregated and variable under field conditions, field research is difficult and often yields inconsistent results. Multiple pathogens have only recently been associated with this disease, so practical management solutions such as fungicide efficacy and fungicide application timing have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the influence of fungicide selection and fungicide application timing on take‐all root rot management under field and greenhouse conditions. In general, fungicides from the quinone outside inhibitor and/or demethylation inhibitor chemical classes provided the greatest reduction in take‐all root rot severity. Fungicide applications that were made when soil temperatures were between 77–86°F provided the greatest disease suppression. The in vivo greenhouse method developed in this research proved to be an efficient and consistent method to evaluate management practices such as fungicide efficacy on take‐all root rot. This research improves our understanding of fungicide efficacy and fungicide application timing for take‐all root rot management on ultradwarf bermudagrass. Core Ideas: Fungicides from the QoI and/or DMI chemical class provided the greatest reduction in take‐all root rot severity.Apply fungicides when the 5‐day average soil temperature at a 2‐inch depth is approximately 80°F for TARR management.The in vivo screening method developed here is an efficient way to evaluate TARR management parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐locus sequence data are widely used in fungal systematic and taxonomic studies to delimit species and infer evolutionary relationships. We developed and assessed the efficacy of a multi‐locus pooled sequencing method using PacBio long‐read high‐throughput sequencing. Samples included fresh and dried voucher specimens, cultures and archival DNA extracts of Agaricomycetes with an emphasis on the order Cantharellales. Of the 283 specimens sequenced, 93.6% successfully amplified at one or more loci with a mean of 3.3 loci amplified. Our method recovered multiple sequence variants representing alleles of rDNA loci and single copy protein‐coding genes rpb1, rpb2 and tef1. Within‐sample genetic variation differed by locus and taxonomic group, with the greatest genetic divergence observed among sequence variants of rpb2 and tef1 from corticioid Cantharellales. Our method is a cost‐effective approach for generating accurate multi‐locus sequence data coupled with recovery of alleles from polymorphic samples and multi‐organism specimens. These results have important implications for understanding intra‐individual genomic variation among genetic loci commonly used in species delimitation of fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]