Caracterización de hongos asociados a la rizosfera de vaccinium floribundum del páramo Cubillín, cantón Chambo, provincia de Chimborazo

Abstract

The rhizosphere is a very complex environment where plant roots and microorganisms present in the soil interact each other. In some way, these interactions affect the growth of plants and their reaction to biotic and abiotic stress. Identifying these microorganisms could contribute to understand the plant adaptation to wild habitats. However, knowledge about the organisms associated with wild plants, especially those of the Andean region is very limited. In the current research, the rhizosphere fungus associated with Vaccinium floribundum Kunth, commonly known as "mortiño", were characterized. Three samples were analyzed with two purposes: the first had to do with the analysis carried out in an external laboratory through the use of the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to explore the fungal composition while the other purpose had to do with the obtention of the physicochemical characterization of the paramo soil. The data obtained from the metagenomic analysis revealed that Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the most abundant and dominant fungal taxa. Certain taxa identified in the research were considered important in the soil, plant and microorganism interaction, it means that they play a key role in the adaptation of mortiño to harsh environmental conditions. The results obtained from the physical-chemical analysis revealed that the pH is moderately acidic with a value of 5.8, which is typical of paramo soils, an electrical conductivity of 63.7 microsiemens/cm, a bulk density of 1.9g/cm3, a moisture content of 46.64 %, organic matter was 19.80%, and finally the percentage of organic carbon was 11.49. All these data emphasize the complexity of soil ecology as well as the need for further research aimed at understanding the key role of these genera and their interactions in the rhizosphere and plant-associated communities.