Exploración filogenética de OTUs de hongos (Virtual Taxa) pertenecientes a Glomeromycota asociados a raíces de orquídeas epífitas tropicales del sur de Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: In nature, most plants are associated with endophytic fungi, which are able to ameliorate plants growing and strengthen their tolerance to biotic and abiotic factors. Epiphytic orchids roots form a diverse set of endophytic fungi, which remain mainly undescribed, as well as the factors that affect their interaction with plants, so it is relevant to explore the diversity, structure, and possible ecological role of these fungal communities. Among them, we highlight those belonging to Glomeromycota, that have been recently detected in association with tropical epiphytic orchid species. In this study, we phylogenetically analyzed sequences of these fungi, which were obtained from two previous studies in which five species of epiphytic orchids were collected in different tropical forests of southern Ecuador. A vast diversity of Glomeromycota fungi was detected, with a total of 134 OTUs which were associated to orchids, those were classified into three orders, with Glomerales being the dominant group. In addition, fungal communities were significantly different between sites and orchid species, demonstrating that Glomeromycota OTU communities vary according to host and sites.