COLOMBIAN VANILLA AND ITS MICROBIOTA. III. DIVERSITY AND STRUCTURE OF THE ENDOPHYTIC COMMUNITY

摘要

Endophytic fungal communities are well-recognised entities within plants worldwide. They hold species with potential in medicinal affairs, biological control of pests, industry, and more. Nevertheless, ecological data about structure and dynamics of endophytic communities are scarce. In this study we sampled root, stem and leaf tissues of Colombian vanilla species in order of both, identifying endosymbionts and characterising the community they belong to. An interesting array of endophytic species was found, including taxa that function as pathogens, saprotrophs, and dermatophytes in other plants/scenarios. Ecological parameters show a moderate diversity with a lognormal arrangement of species quite similar to communities of macroorganisms. Many species here reported belong to taxa broadly reported as sources of biologically active compounds, so they are good candidates for bioprospecting research.