Diversity of saprotrophic filamentous fungi on Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze (Brazilian pine).

The biodiversity of filamentous fungi and their ecological relationships in the context of decaying Araucaria angustifolia (an endangered conifer) substrates are still mostly unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the diversity of saprotrophic filamentous fungi, based on morphological identification, associated with A. angustifolia, in addition to assessing possible saprobic/plant affinity relationship, and verifying whether the study areas and substrates affect the composition of the mycobiota. A total of 5000 substrates (decaying needles and twigs) were collected during five expeditions (2014/2015) to two areas: São Francisco de Paula National Forest (FLONA-SFP) and São Joaquim National Park (PARNA-SJ), Brazil. A total of 135 species distributed among 85 genera, 40 families, nine classes, 24 orders, three subphyla, and two phyla were identified. One new genus and five new species that were previously described, and six rare species and five species with affinity for A. angustifolia were also recorded. The twigs showed a community of fungi with greater richness and dominance. Conversely, the values of abundance, Simpson's diversity index, and evenness were lower than those determined for needles. In terms of the study areas, FLONA-SFP showed higher values of richness, abundance, Simpson's diversity index, and evenness than PARNA-SJ. Principal coordinate analysis and similarity percentage analysis showed the influence of both substrate factors and areas in the composition of the fungal communities. The presence of new, rare, and affinity-related species reinforces the study of fungi in the context of the conservation of this conifer, as these species are threatened by co-extinction.

Characterization saprobic fungi on leaf litter of two species of trees in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

We investigated the composition and structure of fungal communities associated with leaf litter generated by Clusia nemorosa and Vismia guianensis that belong to phylogenetically-related botanical families and exist together in a remnant of the Atlantic Forest in Bahia, Brazil. Samplings were conducted during wet (June 2011) and dry (January 2013) seasons in Serra da Jibóia. The fungi were isolated using particle filtration and the 1,832 isolates represented 92 taxa. The wet season yielded the largest number of isolates (1,141) and taxa (76) compared with the dry season (641 isolates and 37 taxa). The richness and diversity of fungal species associated with C. nemorosa (64 taxa, Simpson=0.95)were higher compared with those of V.guianensis (59 taxa, Simpson =0.90). Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) revealed significant variations in the composition and community structure of fungi isolated from the two plants as a function of seasons. In contrast, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis show that the seasonality was an important influence on the distribution of fungal species. However, the populations of the saprobic fungal communities were dynamic, and several factors may influence such communities in the Atlantic Forest.

Characterization saprobic fungi on leaf litter of two species of trees in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Abstract We investigated the composition and structure of fungal communities associated with leaf litter generated by Clusia nemorosa and Vismia guianensis that belong to phylogenetically-related botanical families and exist together in a remnant of the Atlantic Forest in Bahia, Brazil. Samplings were conducted during wet (June 2011) and dry (January 2013) seasons in Serra da Jibóia. The fungi were isolated using particle filtration and the 1,832 isolates represented 92 taxa. The wet season yielded the largest number of isolates (1,141) and taxa (76) compared with the dry season (641 isolates and 37 taxa). The richness and diversity of fungal species associated with C. nemorosa (64 taxa, Simpson=0.95)were higher compared with those of V.guianensis (59 taxa, Simpson =0.90). Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) revealed significant variations in the composition and community structure of fungi isolated from the two plants as a function of seasons. In contrast, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis show that the seasonality was an important influence on the distribution of fungal species. However, the populations of the saprobic fungal communities were dynamic, and several factors may influence such communities in the Atlantic Forest.