Article
Changes in diversity and community composition of root endophytic fungi associated with Aristolochia chilensis along an Aridity Gradient in the Atacama Desert
Registro en:
Guevara-Araya, M. J., Escobedo, V. M., Palma-Onetto, V., & González-Teuber, M. (2022). Changes in diversity and community composition of root endophytic fungi associated with aristolochia chilensis along an aridity gradient in the atacama desert. Plants, 11(11) doi:10.3390/plants11111511
2223-7747
Autor
Guevara Araya, María
Escobedo, Víctor
Palma Onetto, Valeria
González Teuber, Marcia
Resumen
Artículo de publicación SCOPUS - WOS Despite the widespread occurrence of fungal endophytes (FE) in plants inhabiting arid
ecosystems, the environmental and soil factors that modulate changes in FE diversity and community
composition along an aridity gradient have been little explored. We studied three locations along the
coast of the Atacama Desert in Chile, in which the plant Aristolochia chilensis naturally grows, and
that differ in their aridity gradient from hyper-arid to semi-arid. We evaluated if root-associated FE
diversity (frequency, richness and diversity indexes) and community composition vary as a function
of aridity. Additionally, we assessed whether edaphic factors co-varying with aridity (soil water
potential, soil moisture, pH and nutrients) may structure FE communities. We expected that FE
diversity would gradually increase towards the aridity gradient declines, and that those locations that
had the most contrasting environments would show more dissimilar FE communities. We found that
richness indexes were inversely related to aridity, although this pattern was only partially observed
for FE frequency and diversity. FE community composition was dissimilar among contrasting
locations, and soil water availability significantly influenced FE community composition across
the gradient. The results indicate that FE diversity and community composition associated with
A. chilensis relate to differences in the aridity level across the gradient. Overall, our findings reveal
the importance of climate-related factors in shaping changes in diversity, structure and distribution
of FE in desert ecosystems.