SOIL MYCOBIOME OF A TEAK INHABITED LAND IN CHENGALPET, INDIA: A METAGENOMIC STUDY

Soil mycobiome plays a major role in soil health along with biotic and abiotic factors.
They are found to increase or maintain soil health in nutritional as well as biotic components.
Thus, it is interested to note the members present in one such soil where the litters of Teak
(Tectona grandis) was found dominated. The soil fungi were studied using metabarcoding. The
study unveiled a rich and diverse microbial landscape crucial for the functioning of
ecosystem.The eDNA extracted from the soil samples were Analysed for the ITS region using
Illumina sequencing which resulted in identifying 121 distinct fungal species, predominantly
belonging to the Ascomycota phylum. Key fungal genera involved in critical ecological
processes such as wood decay (Asterostroma, Tylospora) and general organic matter
decomposition (Penicillium, Talaromyces) were highly represented. Notably, this study yielded
the first records for India of five fungal taxa: Tylospora asterophora, a soil-dwelling
basidiomycete; Micarea myriocarpa, a cosmopolitan lichenized fungus; Talaromyces
purgamentorum, previously isolated from the Amazon; Ramicandelaber taiwanensis, originally
described from Taiwanese soil; and Dentiscutata savannicola, primarily known from South
America. The presence of lichenized genera like Micarea and Verrucaria suggested specific
microenvironmental conditions within the woodland. This comprehensive molecular survey
underscores the significant fungal biodiversity harbored within Indian teak ecosystems and
highlights the efficacy of metabarcoding in revealing previously undocumented species and
their potential ecological roles. The generated sequence data has been deposited in the NCBI database under accession numbers PQ561267 to PQ561383, providing a valuable resource for
future mycological research and conservation strategies in similar ecosystems across the globe.