Unearthing diverse culturable fungal communities associated with Ophiocordyceps indica sp. nov. from Indian Western Himalaya.

ABSTRACT

Fungal communities colonizing Ophiocordyceps spp. plays a crucial ecological role in their natural habitat, contributing to infect the host larvae, and influencing their occurrence. Although associated fungi with the newly described Ophiocordyceps indica, from the Indian Western Himalaya remains unclear. Therefore, we untangled the culturable fungal communities associated with O. indica and soil adhered to it, collected from low-height areas of Himachal Pradesh, India. The study resulted in the identification of 111 fungal isolates representing 17 families, with maximum fungal isolates (36.03%) within Cordycipitaceae. Interestingly, a total of 24 genera were found associated with O. indica and adhered soil, of which 12 were common, 8 were exclusive to O. indica and 4 were only limited to soil. Additionally, the influence of soil physicochemical parameters on fungal diversity indices revealed a positive correlation with humidity and available nitrogen and a negative correlation with pH and available phosphorus. These findings provide insights into the culturable fungal diversity of O. indica and the soil adhering to it, thus can contribute to the understanding of host-microbial interactions. Furthermore, these associations can be explored as a source of bioactive metabolites to combat the unending industrial demands.