Analysis of the Diversity of Microscopic Fungi in the Soils of Adjara, Georgia

Abstract

The publication deals with the studies on the diversity of species composition of fungi in various layers of soils (red, sod-podzolic, marsh, urban) of the Adjara. The aim of the study was to identify and determine the composition of fungi; Establishment of the scale of development and spread of fungi in adverse and favorable conditions; Ecological status evaluation of soils in Batumi City. For the isolation of fungi in various soil samples, a sterilization method, serial dilution, and a scattering method were used. The presence of fungi was detected in various soil samples based on morphological characteristics, percentage frequency, growth rate, and colony forming units. The study has found 59 species taxa of soil fungi, belonging to the divisions of Ascomyota (39 species), Zygomyta (15 species), Basidiomycota (2 species), Deuteromycota (3 species). 7 species of fungi involved in forming of the consortium have been specified as well. The most widely distributed fungi in soil samples were of the genera Aspergillus (A. flavus, A. niger, A. versicolor), Paecilomyces (P. variotii), Trichoderma (T. koningii, T. hamatum, T. polysporum, T. viride), Mucor (M. circinelloides, M. hiemalis, M. racemosus, Mucor sp.), Rhizopus (R. oryzae) the genus of phytopathogens Fusarium (F. oxysporum, F. solani), Verticilium (V. lateritium, V. sp.), Phytophthora (Ph. Sp.), Rhizoctonia (R. sp.), Pythium (P. sp) and of genus Sporothrix (S. schenckii). Mong them Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Chaetomium sp. And Acremonium sp. were dominant fungi in all soil samples. Frequency percentage showed that marsh soil is rich in fungal population as compared to red and sod-podzolic soils, yet the greatest biomass is inorganic soil. A lower level of biological activity in the urban soils was found. Morphometric trait differences in test objects activated on the soil samples have been observed. The study was found specialized species of fungi from each ecotype of soil. The soil samples collected from polluted sites were more affected by waste water which affected the population densities of fungi. Experiments have shown that Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, Trichoderma koningii, T. Hamatum and T. Viride grew well on contaminated soil containing heavy metals. On this basis, we will study them further in order to determine their stability to heavy metals.