Three new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi discovered at one location in a desert of Oman: Diversispora omaniana, Septoglomus nakheelum and Rhizophagus arabicus

Three new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Glomeromycota) were isolated from soil samples collected from a hyperarid sandy plain of South Arabia. Morphological characteristics of the spores clearly differentiated them from closely related AM species. Molecular analyses were performed on...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mycologia 2014-03, Vol.106 (2), p.243-259
Main Authors: Symanczik, Sarah, Błaszkowski, Janusz, Chwat, Gerard, Boller, Thomas, Wiemken, Andres, Al-Yahya'ei, Mohamed N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arabian Peninsula
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
arid ecosystem
Biodiversity
desert
Desert Climate
Ecosystem
Glomeromycota
Glomeromycota - classification
Glomeromycota - genetics
Glomeromycota - isolation & purification
molecular phylogeny
Molecular Sequence Data
Mycorrhizae - classification
Mycorrhizae - genetics
Mycorrhizae - growth & development
Mycorrhizae - isolation & purification
Oman
Phylogeny
Rhizophagus
Soil - chemistry
Soil Microbiology
Spores, Fungal - classification
Spores, Fungal - genetics
Spores, Fungal - growth & development
Spores, Fungal - isolation & purification
SYSTEMATICS
taxonomy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Three new species of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Glomeromycota) were isolated from soil samples collected from a hyperarid sandy plain of South Arabia. Morphological characteristics of the spores clearly differentiated them from closely related AM species. Molecular analyses were performed on rDNA sequences obtained from single spores including a ~1700 bp region comprising partial SSU, ITS, partial LSU and the ~600 bp ITS region only. The phylogenetic trees based on these regions showed that the three species belong to well described genera but are clearly distinct from known species. Consequently, we describe them here as Diversispora omaniana, Septoglomus nakheelum and Rhizophagus arabicus spp. nov. D. omaniana and R. arabicus were isolated from the native, arid habitat, while S. nakheelum was isolated from a nearby irrigated date palm plantation. The discovery of three new species of AM fungi from this location suggests that a number of additional undescribed AM taxa may be present in such desert ecosystems. Further work to understand the diversity and functional significance of these new AM taxa may offer new opportunities for conservation, re-vegetation, and sustainable agriculture in extremely arid environments.
ISSN:0027-5514
1557-2536
DOI:10.3852/106.2.243