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Soil fungi metabarcoding in a Mediterranean forest site

14 Feb 2020 - Paulo Oliveira, PLANTBIO, CIBIO-InBIO & University of Évora, Portugal | 15h30
Soil fungi metabarcoding in a Mediterranean forest site

SENIOR SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

Approaching soil mycobiota diversity through metagenomics has brought a dazzling richness of data, confirming the previously suspected high alpha-diversity (even in the tiniest of samples), the high number of undescribed taxa, and the patchiness of community composition. The soil metagenomics literature for fungi is still thin in the coverage of Mediterranean forest ecosystems. We have undertaken a proof-of-concept effort based on a novel DNA extraction method and the contrasts between a pair of small neighbouring plots, in a forested Mediterranean area where Quercus suber L. is the dominant tree species. A set of 26 sample points forming a grid-type lattice were collected at two depths and processed within a short time period on December 2017. It was hypothesized that, in spite of the patchiness, there would be a preferential clustering between samples of the same plot, and between those of the same depth. The data support a clustering by plot and by depth, though less significantly between the two depths in one of the plots. Most OTUs were localized, while others were ubiquitous at this (small) scale. Such ubiquity would probably be missed by taking just one (or a few) samples per plot. During this presentation we will develop a discussion on the model of approach used in this study, within the frame of the current literature on soil fungi.

Biology graduate at the University of Lisbon, primarily a geneticist (Ph.D. University of Évora), teaching at the University of Évora Genetics, Evolutionary and Developmental Biology. In research, Dr Paulo Oliveira have taken an interest in the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis, for its relevance in the overall economy of forest ecosystems, progressively expanding the scope to soil fungi in general. Currently the approach is typically field-oriented, with a systematic link to molecular analyses. The emergence of NGS at CIBIO-InBIO has prompted him to start direct studies of the fungal biodiversity in forest soil by ITS metabarcoding. Another aspect of Paulo Oliveria´s interests in this area is related to Field Mycology (mushroom studies), with some emphasis on knowledge dissemination and training. He also have a keen interest in the development and application of innovative teaching strategies.

 

[Host: Herlander Azevedo, Plant Biology]


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