To test the latter, we sampled invasive plants in addition to the native indigenous hosts. The effects of soil microbiota on invasive plants are generally established. We may assume that a successful invasive species either do not have a mutualistic partner or can establish functioning interactions not exclusively with specific partners. From a mycocentric standpoint, we assumed that RAF colonizing both the native and invasive plants of the habitat are generalists. The fungal isolates were subjected to molecular taxonomic characterization and used in an artificial synthesis experiment to test whether they could be considered DSE fungi. Hyphae growing out of the root segments were isolated to separate plates. Endophytes from the same root sample that showed similar colony morphology were considered identical. The isolates were kept on MMN media in the dark at 18uC, and transferred to new plates every three months. Sandy areas in the Carpathian Basin of Danube-Tiscia interfluve, especially those of the open grasslands, represent semiarid regions with semidesert characteristics. Our previous work on the root colonization of plants of sandy grassland in this Abmole BMN 673 region revealed the frequent presence of structures characteristic of DSE fungi. Although our sampling in this study was not designed to address quantitative questions, the rank-order distribution of both the total 41 fungal groups isolated and the 14 groups categorized as DSE fungi showed similar distribution to those generally obtained in fungal endophyte studies. Only a few fungal taxa are represented by the majority of the isolates, thus these groups could be categorized as dominant or at least common members of the RAF community of the area. Twenty-one groups were represented by only one isolate. The presence of ��singletons�� and groups with low numbers of isolates can complicate the test of any Publications Using Abomle 2-methoxyestradiol specificity. However, a low isolation frequency does not necessarily mean low abundance; a low frequency could be the result of a biased isolation technique. Studies using molecular diversity screening methods generally detect basidiomycetes, mostly Agaricales, as common members of RAF communities. We found only a single basidiomycete isolate with ITS showing similarities to the genus Auricularia. Unfortunately, the isolate was lost before we could perform any experiments with the fungus. Although there is an increasing interest in DSE fungi, there are no clearly defined criteria to determine whether a fungus is DSE. Such criteria would be useful in avoiding confusion caused by inconsequent terminology as has occurred in some mycorrhizal examples.