MYCOBIOME OF ANJUR FOREST SOIL: A METABARCODING APPROACH

Abstract

Soil fungi are crucial for nutrient cycling and plant health. The knowledge pertaining to the diversity of fungi reveals the soil health. However, conventional classification methods pose challenges in comprehensively identifying the complete fungal community. The metabarcoding approach offers a powerful and comprehensive alternative for studying fungal diversity in soil ecosystems. This study investigated the diversity of fungal species in soil samples collected from undisturbed zones within the Anjur Reserve Forest, located in the Chengalpattu District of Tamil Nadu, which falls under the East Deccan Dry Evergreen Ecoregion. Metabarcoding analysis of the soil samples clustered the sequences into 151 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), yielding a total of 195,908 reads. The dominant fungal phyla identified were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and Mortierellomycota. At the species level, a total of 78 species were identified, with Asterostromasp. (18654), Muyocopron ficinum (8369), Phaeobotryon mamani (1703), and Verrucariasp. (1138) being the most abundant. Notably, a significant portion of the reads (84,338) could only be classified at the kingdom level (Fungi). Additionally, the study detected DNA from opportunistic, pathogenic, ectomycorrhizal, and endophytic fungi, suggesting potential introduction by wild animals, birds, or wind. This study highlights the diverse fungal communities present in the Anjur Reserve Forest and their potential influence on soil dynamics within this forest ecosystem. The dominance of specific fungal taxa likely contributes to enhanced nutrient cycling and improved soil structure, playing a crucial role in mitigating soil erosion and maintaining ecosystem stability. Further research focusing on the functional roles of these individual fungal species across different environmental contexts will provide a deeper understanding of their potential in ecosystem management and restoration. Expanding the study to include a greater number of samples across the East Deccan Dry Evergreen Forest ecoregion would further elucidate the significant role of fungi in this unique ecosystem.