Fungal communities of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) phloem Raw sequence reads

Beech bark disease is a widespread decline disease of American beech caused by an invasive scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) and two fungal pathogens with some degree of ecological redundancy in the context of disease, Neonectria faginata and N. ditissima. The relative prevalence of these fungi is largely unknown with regards to geography, climate, and disease stage. Culture-based studies have isolated additional fungal plant pathogens, mycoparasites, or entomopathogens from diseased hosts, but it is unknown whether such fungi play a consistent role in disease progression or contribute to host outcomes. Here we used fungal ITS2 amplicon sequencing to identify the endophytic communities of American beech phloem across the geographic range of beech bark disease.