Diversity and mechanisms underlying community assembly of the fungi associated with Tetraena mongolica, an endangered relict plant in West Ordos

doi:10.17520/biods.2025290

Abstract

Abstract:

Aim: This study explored the diversity and ecological mechanisms of the fungal communities in different compartments of Tetraena mongolica.

Methods: Leaf, root and soil samples were collected from T. mongolica, and Illumina high-throughput sequencing targeting the fungal ITS1 region was employed to analyze fungal diversity and composition. Additionally, preference analysis and LEfSe analysis were adopted to detect the biomarker fungi for each plant compartment, and the neutral community model (NCM), modified stochasticity ratio (MST) and infer community assembly mechanisms by phylogenetic-bin-based null model analysis (iCAMP) approaches were used to examine the ecological processes driving fungal communities.

Results: A total of 752 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified across five plant compartments. Significant differences in fungal diversity and composition were observed among compartments, with niche-preferential OTUs and biomarker taxa specific to each compartment. Fungal diversity decreased progressively from the rhizosphere soil to root and then leaf. Epiphytic samples of roots and leaves harbored higher fungal diversity than endophytic samples. Integrated analyses using the NCM, MST, and iCAMP revealed that stochastic processes, particularly the dispersal limitation and ecological drift, dominated fungal community assembly. Furthermore, the relative importance of these ecological processes varied across different plant compartments.

Conclusion: This research reveals, for the first time, the community diversity and community assembly mechanisms of fungi associated with the endangered relict plant T. mongolica, and provides a scientific basis and practical guidance for conserving rare relict plants.

Key words: relict plant, plant compartment, preference fungi, dispersal limitation, functional group

Zhao Chen, Ying Xu, Tianyu Liang, Yanling Zhao, Xuan Zhang, Lujing Wang, Yanci Yang, Yonglong Wang. Diversity and mechanisms underlying community assembly of the fungi associated with Tetraena mongolica, an endangered relict plant in West Ordos[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2026, 34(3): 25290.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2025290

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2026/V34/I3/25290

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Field photos of Tetraena mongolica, an endangered relict plant in West Ordos Plateau. (a) Field population; (b) Single plant individual.

Fig. 2 Analysis on diversity of fungal alpha in different compartments of Tetraena mongolica. (a) Richness indices; (b) Shannon indices; (c) Simpson indices; (d) Chao1 indices. GN, Root endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi. * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001.

Fig. 3 Upset diagram of distribution of unique and shared fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across different compartments of Tetraena mongolica. GN, Root endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi. Numerical size indicates OTUs richness; intersection size indicates the number of shared OTUs across different plant compartments; black dots indicate plant compartments.

Fig. 4 Relative abundance of dominant fungal taxonomy associated with Tetraena mongolica at the class (a) and order (b) levels (more than 5% of total reads). GN, Root endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi.

Fig. 5 Principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) of fungal communities in Tetraena mongolica based on Bray-Curtis distance. GN, Root endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi.

Fig. 6 Preference of plant compartment-fungus associations. (a) Preferences between the 39 dominant fungal OTUs and plant compartment. (b) Relationship between 2DP and FDR-adjusted P values. 2DP, Two-dimentional preference. FDR, False discovery rate. GN, Root endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001.

Fig. 7 Fungal biomarkers in each plant compartments of Tetraena mongolica. (LEfSe: LDA > 4.5, P < 0.05). LDA score (log10), Linear discriminant analysis score (log10). YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GN, Root endophytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil fungi.

Fig. 8 Ecological assembly mechanisms of fungal communities associated with Tetraena mongolica. (a) Neutral community model (NCM) analyses for fungal communities; (b) Modified stochasticity ration (MST) analyses for fungal communities; (c) The relative importance of ecological processes in driving fungal community assembly. DL, Dispersal limitation; DR, Drift; HoS, Homogeneous selection; HD, Homogenizing dispersal; HeS, Heterogeneous selection; GN, Root endophytic fungi; GB, Root epiphytic fungi; GT, Rhizosphere soil fungi; YN, Phyllosphere endophytic fungi; YB, Phyllosphere epiphytic fungi.

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