Biogeographic structure of fungal communities in seagrass Halophilia ovalis across the Malay Peninsula
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2021
Abstract
Distributed across both the tropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the seagrass Halophilia ovalis stabilizes coastal sediment, thereby preventing shoreline erosion and is also an important food source for megaherbivores such as dugongs. However, seagrass meadows globally are under severe duress due to both climate change and anthropogenic activities. We characterized the mycobiome of Halophilia ovalis at seven sites in the Malay Peninsula using ITS1 rDNA amplicon sequences and investigated differences in fungal community structure. We found that geographic location was a significant factor shaping fungal communities and that marine sediment harboured significantly higher diversity when compared to H. ovalis leaves, roots and rhizomes. Taken together, it is likely that locality rather than specific plant structure determines fungal community structure in H. ovalis. Because the plant mycobiome is known to exert a strong effect on plant health, to maximize the success of future seagrass transplantation and restoration work we propose that these efforts consider the importance of seagrass mycobiomes at all stages.
Keywords
Seagrass Halophilia ovalis, Coastal sediment, Shoreline erosion, Megaherbivores
Divisions
arts
Funders
National Research Foundation, Singapore (MSRDP-P03),Mandai Nature Fund
Publication Title
Environmental Microbiology Reports
Volume
13
Issue
6
Publisher
Wiley
Publisher Location
111 RIVER ST, HOBOKEN 07030-5774, NJ USA