Abstract
The Andes range in Ecuador presents high biodiversity and characteristic
altitudinal gradients, which are frequently threatened by deforestation
and farming. In particular, forest have developed in the high
inter-Andean alley on volcanic soils forming a unique ecoregion. Little
is known on the fungal biodiversity of soil in such high Andean gallery
forest submitted to strong degradation pressures. Therefore, in this
study we evaluated wether the soil mycobiome was associated with
altitudinal gradients during the dry season. Three representative
locations were selected based on altitude: A (3,309 meters above the sea
level, masl), B (3,809 masl) and C (4,409 masl). High performance
sequencing (NGS) of the ITS region of ribosomal DNA genes with Illumina
technology was used to explore the fungal taxonomic composition in the
soil samples. Our results showed changes in the structure of fungal
communities in the different locations, related to the relative
abundance of Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV). Higher fungal diversity
was related with the altitudinal gradient with average taxa ranging from
675, 626 and 556 ASVs, respectively from location A to C. The results
highlight the complexity and diversity of fungal communities in high
Andean forest and the need to protect these unique mycobiomes. The
findings in this ecosystem of Ecuador will improve our understanding of
distribution, diversity, ecology, and biological perspectives for the
restoration of terrestrial microbiomes.