Low microbial diversity, yeast prevalence, and nematode-trapping fungal presence in fungal colonization and leaf microbiome of Serjania erecta

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-07, Vol.14 (1), p.15456-17, Article 15456
• Main Authors: de Freitas, Samylla Tássia Ferreira, Silva, Fabiano Guimarães, Bessa, Layara Alexandre, de Souza, Ueric José Borges, Augusto, Damiana Souza Santos, de Faria, Giselle Santos, Vitorino, Luciana Cristina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/326/2565; 631/449/2676; Animals; Bioactive compounds; Biodiversity; Cerrado plant microbiome; Colonization; Dysbacteriosis; Endophytes; Endophytes - genetics; Endophytes - isolation & purification; Endophytic fungi; Epiphytic fungi; Fungi; Fungi - classification; Fungi - genetics; Fungi - isolation & purification; Humanities and Social Sciences; Leaves; Medicinal plants; Metabolites; Metagenomic study; Metagenomics; Metagenomics - methods; Methanogenic archaea; Methanotrophic bacteria; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microorganisms; multidisciplinary; Nematoda - microbiology; Nematode-trapping fungi; Nematodes; Plant growth; Plant Leaves - microbiology; Plant Leaves - parasitology; Plant tissues; Scanning electron microscopy; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Serjania; Stomata; Trapping; Yeasts; Yeasts - classification; Yeasts - genetics; Yeasts - isolation & purification
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66161-3

Medicinal plant microbiomes undergo selection due to secondary metabolite presence. Resident endophytic/epiphytic microorganisms directly influence plant’s bioactive compound synthesis. Hypothesizing low microbial diversity in Serjania erecta leaves, we assessed leaf colonization by epiphytic and endophytic fungi. Given its traditional medicinal importance, we estimated diversity in the endophytic fungal microbiome. Analyses included scanning electron microscopy (SEM), isolation of cultivable species, and metagenomics. Epiphytic fungi interacted with S. erecta leaf tissues, horizontally transmitted via stomata/trichome bases, expressing traits for nematode trapping. Cultivable endophytic fungi, known for phytopathogenic habits, didn’t induce dysbiosis symptoms. This study confirms low leaf microbiome diversity in S. erecta , with a tendency towards more fungal species, likely due to antibacterial secondary metabolite selection. The classification of Halicephalobus sp. sequence corroborated the presence of nematode eggs on the epidermal surface of S. erecta by SEM. In addition, we confirmed the presence of methanogenic archaea and a considerable number of methanotrophs of the genus Methylobacterium. The metagenomic study of endophytic fungi highlighted plant growth-promoting yeasts, mainly Malassezia , Leucosporidium , Meyerozyma , and Hannaella . Studying endophytic fungi and S. erecta microbiomes can elucidate their impact on beneficial bioactive compound production, on the other hand, it is possible that the bioactive compounds produced by this plant can recruit specific microorganisms, impacting the biological system.