Abstract
Current study identified endophytic fungi associated to Argania spinosa (argan) roots and revealed diverse haplotype diversity by the sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS). 586 operational taxonomic units were identified and these operational taxonomic units (OTUs) could be assigned to fungal functional diversity such as endophytes, ectomycorrhiza and putative pathogens. Ascomycota phylum was abundant. Beside Ascomycota phylum, Basidiomycota members were also found in argan roots. Geopora, Sebacina, Knufia, Tomentella, Penicillim had high relative abundance. Our results highlighted a non-nested assemblage of fungi. Current non-nested findings also confirm that fungi have similar pattern found in other habitats. Pairwise analysis mirrored segregation pattern between same and different functional fungal group. Fungi in semi-arid conditions are non-randomly structured. Members of Ascomycota phylum had high Z-scores. This is the first molecular study conducted in arid and semi-arid habitats of Algeria aiming to identify fungi associated with roots in argan tree. Given the fact that deserts are among harsh environments and fungi associated to desert plants may have implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Highlights
Fungi are important component of ecosystem and play pivotal role in ecosystem functioning such as carbon and nutrient cycling (Courty et al, 2010; Treseder, 2004)
We showed that majority of fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to Ascomycota phylum had Z- scores -2 above 2 (Table2), showing statistical significance (Ulrich, 2008)
The present study is the first study to assess fungi associated with Argania spinosa roots growing in the arid and semi-arid climate
Summary
Fungi are important component of ecosystem and play pivotal role in ecosystem functioning such as carbon and nutrient cycling (Courty et al, 2010; Treseder, 2004). Argan tree (Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels) is a slow growing endemic plant species in distributed in north-west Africa (Díaz-Barradas et al, 2010). This tree species is known for its ecological importance because it creates a favourable microclimate for the development of other plant species and protects soils against erosion. It plays a socio-economic role in the regions where it grows. In Algeria, there is decline in population of argan plant due to ecological and anthropogenic factors including climate change and grazing pressure (Charrouf & Guillaume, 2009; Díaz-Barradas et al, 2010)
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