Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate the species diversity of AM fungi in different parts of the North Caucasus, biodiversity hotspot, the center of the world’s biological diversity. Samples were taken from 5 locations (stationary trial plots, STPs) in different ecosystems and at various altitudes. Identification was performed using sequencing for ITS1 and ITS2 regions, amplified with universal primers, Illumina MiSeq was employed. 19 genera of AM fungi were found on all STPs. The work did not reveal a correlation between the altitude and the species composition of AM fungi. At the same time, it should be assumed that a correlation could be found between the biodiversity of AM fungi and the type of ecosystem, which should be done in the future. The study shows it is necessary to use an analysis for both ITS regions, since the data obtained for each ITS region differ and complement each other. Analysis for the ITS2 region revealed 1.3 times more virtual taxa than for the ITS1, while the number of OTUs identified per species was similar for both regions. The highest biodiversity of AM fungi was found in STP #3 (with meadow flora). Only 4 species (Rhizophagus irregularis, R. intraradices, Paraglomus laccatum, and Claroideoglomus claroideum) were found on all five analyzed STPs. We found unexpectedly that with such a high biodiversity among the identified fungi, no different species were found in the Paraglomus genus, all the sequences of Paraglomus belonged to Paraglomus laccatum, whereas at least 9 species are distinguished in the genus by morphology. Further research will allow us to identify new strains of AM fungi, the efficiency of which may be higher than already studied ones. In the future this will make it possible to create more effective microbial biofertilizers for agriculture.
Highlights
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is one of the oldest and most common types of symbiosis between plants and fungi
It can be concluded that the variety of AM fungi species does not havelinear correlation with the altitude, but it can be determined by the type of ecosystem and species composition of host plants
A comparison of the different STPs suggests that we have discovered a new region with high AM fungal biodiversity, STP #3
Summary
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is one of the oldest and most common types of symbiosis between plants and fungi. AM leads to an increase in the supply of nutrients to the plant, a decrease in the negative impact of drought and salinity, and an improvement in the water balance. The study of AM, its symbiotic efficacy and activity is an urgent line of research in modern biology. The comprehensive study of AM fungi can help us to understand their role in the evolution and maintenance of plant species diversity, the plant growth and the adaptation to environment. Isolated from soils strains of AM fungi could be used in agriculture to increase the crops productivity and obtain ecologically clean products. The search for the new AM fungi strains and species receives priority in agricultural microbiology
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