Fungal diversity in the rhizosphere of endemic plant species of Tenerife (Canary Islands): relationship to vegetation zones and environmental factors

Abstract

Knowledge about fungal diversity scaling relationships relative to that of plants is important to understand ecosystem functioning. Tenerife Island, a natural laboratory to study terrestrial biodiversity, is represented by six different vegetation zones characterized by specific abiotic conditions and plant communities with a high proportion of endemic plants. Little is known about the biodiversity of associated fungi. To understand the relationship between plant and fungal communities, we analysed soil/rhizosphere fungi from all vegetation zones. From 12 sampling points dispersed on the whole island, molecular analysis of fungal communities was determined by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis using universal and specific primers for Trichoderma. The highly diverse fungal communities were mainly characterized by ectomycorrhizaforming Basidiomycota and a high proportion of yet-unidentified species. Besides, Trichodermaspecific SSCP resulted in low diversity of mainly cosmopolitan species, for example Hypocrea lixii/ T. harzianum. The dominance of T. harzianum was confirmed by cultivation. All Trichoderma isolates show an extraordinarily high antagonistic potential towards different groups of plant pathogens, supporting the hypothesis of extensive colonization by highly competitive Trichoderma species from the continent. In contrast, biodiversity patterns of the whole fungal and plant communities follow the same ecological rules. Furthermore, a high statistical correlation between fungal communities and the main environmental factors, temperature and precipitation, was found.

Next-Generation Bio-Products Sowing the Seeds of Success for Sustainable Agriculture

“…Moreover, natural habitats have a low number of pathogens, so the general rule of diversity versus pathogenicity would suggest a higher rate of biocontrol and plant growth promotion agents in such environments [25]. This hypothesis was confirmed with high proportions of potential antagonists from such habitats, e.g., associated with mosses [26], with endemic plants from nature conservation areas [27] or with the hemi-parasitic plant mistletoe [28]. Agricultural systems, especially monocultures under intense management, often have a lower microbial diversity with the exception of suppressive soils where the microbial community responds to mono-cultivation by enhancing biocontrol and plant growth promotion bacteria against a specific pathogen [29].…”

The biogeography of fungal communities in wetland sediments along the Changjiang River and other sites in China

“…The Qin Mountains are sufficiently high to protect the area to the south from the cold to the north, resulting in different plant flora to the north and south (Kang and Zhu, 2007). Because plants often represent important sources of nutrition for fungi, the distribution of fungal communities may reflect the distribution of plant communities (Zachow et al, 2009).…”

Antifungal effect of Polar and non polar extracts of <i>Aframomum Sceptrum</i> on Two Isolates of Oil Palm

“…Some other fungal isolates from the exocarp of deteriorating palm fruit is Hypocrea lixii (anamorph Trichoderma harzianum) Chaverri and Samuels, (2002). Trichoderma harzianum as it is the most frequent Trichoderma species in majority of samples world1`wide (Zachow et al, 2009). Many of the genus are ubiquitous inhabitants of soils, decaying plant matter and debris (Harman et al, 2004).…”