Dataset Information

Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest (Ecuador).

ABSTRACT: Fungi represent an essential component of ecosystems, functioning as decomposers and biotrophs, and they are one of the most diverse groups of Eukarya. In the tropics, many species are unknown. In this work, high-throughput DNA sequencing was used to discover the biodiversity of soil fungi in the Aguarongo forest reserve, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in Ecuador. The rDNA metabarcoding analysis revealed the presence of seven phyla: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Glomeromycota, Chytridiomycota, and Monoblepharomycota. A total of 440 identified species were recorded. They mainly belonged to Ascomycota (263) and Basidiomycota (127). In Mortierellomycota, 12 species were recorded, among which Podila verticillata is extremely frequent and represents the dominant species in the entire mycobiota of Aguarongo. The present research provides the first account of the entire soil mycobiota in the Aguarongo forest, where many fungal species exist that have strong application potential in agriculture, bioremediation, chemical, and the food industry. The Aguarongo forest hides a huge number of unknown fungal species that could be assessed, and its protection is of the utmost importance.

SUBMITTER: Delgado EF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8698837 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest (Ecuador).

Delgado Ernesto F EF Valdez Adrián T AT Covarrubias Sergio A SA Tosi Solveig S Nicola Lidia L

Biology 20211207 12

Fungi represent an essential component of ecosystems, functioning as decomposers and biotrophs, and they are one of the most diverse groups of Eukarya. In the tropics, many species are unknown. In this work, high-throughput DNA sequencing was used to discover the biodiversity of soil fungi in the Aguarongo forest reserve, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in Ecuador. The rDNA metabarcoding analysis revealed the presence of seven phyla: Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierel ...[more]

PMID: 34943204

Similar Datasets

Project description:Native Andean-Patagonian Nothofagus forests harbour a unique diversity of microorganisms with diverse ecological roles. Although ectomycorrhizal associations constitute an important fragment of the biota associated with these forests, the factors affecting such communities are largely unknown. We investigated the biodiversity, relative abundance, and composition of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in relation to two host tree species and ages and the soil properties in six monospecific and mixed evergreen-deciduous Nothofagus forests. We used the internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region by sequencing 9,600 ectomycorrhizae (ECM) root tips for the identification of fungi. In total, 1,125 fungal taxa at the genus level distributed over 131 orders were identified. The phyla Ascomycota (34.5%) and Basidiomycota (62.1%) were the most abundant, whereas Mucoromycota (3.1%), Chytridiomycota, Cryptomycota, Olpidiomycota, and Zoopagomycota occurred less frequently. The highest taxon diversity was found in old trees, whereas young trees often exhibited a lower diversity of the associated fungi. The fungal taxa were grouped into seven broad ecological categories, of which saprotrophic associations were most common, followed by pathotrophic, pathotrophic-saprotrophic-symbiotrophic, pathotrophic-saprotrophic, and symbiotrophic associations. We did not detect significant differences in the number of taxa in each category between young and old N. dombeyi and N. obliqua. Overall, the scale of the Illumina sequencing approach allowed us to detect a fungal taxa diversity that would not be possible to find through surveys of fruiting bodies alone and that have never been observed in Nothofagus forests before. Our findings suggest the impact of the proximity between sites, the similarity of the soil conditions, and anthropogenic use of the forests on the belowground fungal community's diversity and composition. Furthermore, there were differences between above- and belowground occurrences of the edible mushrooms B. loyo and Ramaria spp. However, future research, including on EMC tips found beneath fairy rings could provide significantly better correlations with the occurrence of aboveground fruiting body.

Project description:BackgroundGlobally, many undescribed fungal taxa reside in the hyperdiverse, yet undersampled, tropics. These species are under increasing threat from habitat destruction by expanding extractive industry, in addition to global climate change and other threats. Reserva Los Cedros is a primary cloud forest reserve of ~ 5256 ha, and is among the last unlogged watersheds on the western slope of the Ecuadorian Andes. No major fungal survey has been done there, presenting an opportunity to document fungi in primary forest in an underrepresented habitat and location. Above-ground surveys from 2008 to 2019 resulted in 1760 vouchered collections, cataloged and deposited at QCNE in Ecuador, mostly Agaricales sensu lato and Xylariales. We document diversity using a combination of ITS barcode sequencing and digital photography, and share the information via public repositories (GenBank & iNaturalist).ResultsPreliminary identifications indicate the presence of at least 727 unique fungal species within the Reserve, representing 4 phyla, 17 classes, 40 orders, 101 families, and 229 genera. Two taxa at Los Cedros have recently been recommended to the IUCN Fungal Red List Initiative (Thamnomyces chocöensis Læssøe and "Lactocollybia" aurantiaca Singer), and we add occurrence data for two others already under consideration (Hygrocybe aphylla Læssøe & Boertm. and Lamelloporus americanus Ryvarden).ConclusionsPlants and animals are known to exhibit exceptionally high diversity and endemism in the Chocó bioregion, as the fungi do as well. Our collections contribute to understanding this important driver of biodiversity in the Neotropics, as well as illustrating the importance and utility of such data to conservation efforts.ResumenAntecedentes: A nivel mundial muchos taxones fúngicos no descritos residen en los trópicos hiper diversos aunque continúan submuestreados. Estas especies están cada vez más amenazadas por la destrucción del hábitat debido a la expansión de la industria extractivista además del cambio climático global y otras amenazas. Los Cedros es una reserva de bosque nublado primario de ~ 5256 ha y se encuentra entre las últimas cuencas hidrográficas no explotadas en la vertiente occidental de los Andes ecuatorianos. Nunca antes se ha realizado un estudio de diversidad micológica en el sitio, lo que significa una oportunidad para documentar hongos en el bosque primario, en hábitat y ubicación subrepresentatadas. El presente estudio recopila información entre el 2008 y 2019 muestreando material sobre todos los sustratos, reportando 1760 colecciones catalogadas y depositadas en el Fungario del QCNE de Ecuador, en su mayoría Agaricales sensu lato y Xylariales; además se documenta la diversidad mediante secuenciación de códigos de barras ITS y fotografía digital, la información está disponible en repositorios públicos digitales (GenBank e iNaturalist).ResultadosLa identificación preliminar indica la presencia de al menos 727 especies únicas de hongos dentro de la Reserva, que representan 4 filos, 17 clases, 40 órdenes, 101 familias y 229 géneros. Recientemente dos taxones en Los Cedros se recomendaron a la Iniciativa de Lista Roja de Hongos de la UICN (Thamnomyces chocöensis Læssøe y "Lactocollybia" aurantiaca Singer) y agregamos datos de presencia de otros dos que ya estaban bajo consideración (Hygrocybe aphylla Læssøe & Boertm. y Lamelloporus americanus Ryvarden).ConclusionesSe sabe que plantas y animales exhiben una diversidad y endemismo excepcionalmente altos en la bioregión del Chocó y los hongos no son la excepción. Nuestras colecciones contribuyen a comprender este importante promotor de la biodiversidad en el Neotrópico además de ilustrar la importancia y utilidad de dichos datos para los esfuerzos de conservación.

Dataset Information

Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest (Ecuador).

Publications

Soil Fungal Diversity of the Aguarongo Andean Forest (Ecuador).

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets