Mauricio Salamanca Fonseca - Seasonal diversity of root-associated fungi on Orinoquia palms

Morichal ecosystem dominated by the palm species Mauritia flexuosa.

Home institution and supervisors
Adriana Corrales, Adriana Sanchez Andrade. U Rosario, Colombia.

Host institution and supervisors
Inger Skrede. UiO, Norway. 2023.

Project description
Fungi play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems and in regulating biogeochemical cycles. The rhizosphere is a layer that facilitates signaling and interactions between plants and soil microorganisms, affecting plant development, productivity, and adaptability. The mycobiome associated with the root and rhizosphere is influenced by environmental characteristics, soil physico-chemical properties, as well as plant-specific factors. Extreme climatic events, such as droughts and flooding, can produce changes in microbial activity and composition. There are many challenges in understanding how microbial communities will respond to these extreme climatic events, as well as which affect the physico-chemical properties of the soil and the plant community. There is also an important lack of knowledge on diversity and composition of microbial communities associated with tropical forests, especially in palms. The aim of this study is to identify which biotic and abiotic factors influence the rhizobiome of palms in three tropical ecosystems (seasonally flooded forest, terra-firma forest and Morichal-dominated by the species Mauritia flexuosa) during the rainy and dry seasons. This will be accomplished by studying fungi associated with root and rhizosphere using a metagenomic approach.