Micobiota endófita de Thalassia testudinum König en el Caribe colombiano

Abstract

The presence of endophytic fungi in Thalassia testudinum leaves was evaluated through sequencing of the ITS region, finding a greater abundance of Ascomycota (35.9 %) than Basidiomycota (2.9 %) and a high percentage of new sequences (60 %) that did not were classified given the limited existing database. Within the Ascomycota phylum, the most abundant family was Saccharomycetales _fam_Incertae_sedis, although about 40 % of sequences could not be classified at this level and in Basidiomycota the most abundant family was Sporidiobolaceae. At the genus level, a variety of both Ascomycota and Basidiomycota was observed, including yeasts and filamentous fungi, and there was evidence of differences between two sampling areas. The results show that the endophytic microbiota of T. testudinum is highly varied and includes previously undescribed genera whose interaction with the host and their role in maintaining the health of these seagrass beds in the Colombian Caribbean are unknown.