High-throughput sequencing analysis of endophytic fungal diversity in cynanchum sp.

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Cynanchum bungei Decne. and its related species C. auriculatum Royle ex Wight. and C. wilfordii (Maxim.) Hemsl. are well known Chinese herbal medicines known by the name Baishouwu, and have a beneficial effect on health. Endophytic fungi exist widely inside host plants and are important components of plant micro-ecosystems. Previous studies have shown that there are significant differences among the isolated fungi from the three species of Baishouwu. To explore the fungal diversity in Cynanchum genus, we characterized and compared the endophytic fungal communities among different plant organs, species and localities of Baishouwu by a High-throughput 18S rDNA gene Illumina MiSeq sequencing technique. The results showed that the main factor affecting the distribution and population structure of endophytes was plant organs, rather than the species and localities. Moreover, Rank abundance curves demonstrated that the richness and evenness of JTG was the highest, while the evenness of JTY was the lowest, the richness of JTJ was the lowest. Furthermore, the samples from three localities had relatively similar fungal communities, as indicated by PCA and UPGMA analysis. The Fusarium, Exophiala, Plectosphaerella, Botryosphaeria, and Filobasidium were the predominant fungal genera in the seven samples, which might play an important role in the plant micro-ecosystems and were beneficial to their host plant. These findings contribute to an understanding of the diversity of the endophyte microbiome of Baishouwu and may be beneficial to the rational development and utilization of the medicinal plants.