Fungal Diversity in Lespedeza cuneata roots

Authors

• Gwendolyn Happ, Parkland College
• Sophia McDade, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Anthony Yannarell, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Summer 2026

Abstract

Background

• Plants form a relationship with fungi that can be beneficial or harmful
• Fungi may grow on the plant surface, within plant tissues, or around roots
• Plants release compounds that invite fungi to their roots and chemicals  that can diminish unwanted fungi

Why Lespedeza cuneata? 

• Invasive that competes with native plants and damages biodiversity within plant and animal communities
• Alters soil microbiome
• Expansive seed bank and deep root system
• Understanding its microbiome can help in understanding invasive species success and ecology

Rights

Copyright is owned by the creator of this work.

Recommended Citation

Happ, Gwendolyn; McDade, Sophia; and Yannarell, Anthony, "Fungal Diversity in Lespedeza cuneata roots" (2026). MICRO-CCS student projects. 24.
https://spark.parkland.edu/micro_ccs_student/24