Root-associated community composition and co-occurrence patterns of fungi in wild grapevine

Abstract

Crops’ wild relatives host a wide range of microorganisms, including some beneficial species that are not found or are under-represented in the domesticated crops. Our goal was to study the underexplored composition of root-associated fungal communities in endangered wild grapevines. We found high taxonomic diversity representing multiple trophic guilds that include beneficial symbiotrophs and endophytes. Soil factors explain a relatively small part of their overall variability. In contrast, the majority of the associated fungal taxa shows a close fit to the neutral model for prediction of their distributions. Only beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the pathogenic Ilyonectria depart from the neutral distribution model and form intimate interactions with the plant host. In addition, pathogenic fungi rarely occurred in samples that included ectomycorrhizal fungi, which suggested potentially applicable inter-microorganism interactions. High abundance and diversity of fungal endophytes on the wild grapevine roots highlight the need for their careful consideration in future studies. • Wild grapevine roots host high diversity of fungi from multiple trophic guilds. • Root-associated fungi fit mainly into neutral model for distribution prediction. • Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Ilyonectria most intimately relate to the host. • Pathogenic fungi rarely occurred in samples that included ectomycorrhizal fung.