Mycobiota of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Mill.) Phyllosphere

Aims: This study was conducted to determine the mycobiota of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius phyllosphere using metagenomics. The phyllosphere, which is the above-ground (aerial) part of plants, is colonized by different microorganisms some of which may be pathogenic to plants and also to humans and animals.

Methodology: The mycobiota was determined by sequencing the 18S rRNA gene on Illumina MiSeq platform. The primer pair: ITS1F (5´-CTTGGTCATTTAGAGGAAGTAAT-3´) and ITS4 (5´-TCCTCCGCTTATTGACATGS-3´) were used to target the ITS regions I and II, and a portion of 28S rDNA.

Results: A total of 107 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were obtained. The mycobiota of C. aconitifolius had 100% Ascomycota classified into Dothideomycetes (84.15%), Eurotiomycetes (2.26%) and Sordariomycetes (12.45%). Only 1.13% of the fungi were unassigned at the class level. The core mycobiota of chaya consisted of the genera Cladosporium (51.70%), Lasiodiplodia (18.11%), Allophoma (6.79%), Stagonosporosis (2.26%) and Aspergillus (2.26%).

Conclusion: The economic importance of the organisms obtained were highlighted. The result from this study shows that C. aconitifolius phyllosphere harbors diverse fungi some of which may promote plant growth or are pathogenic to plants and/or humans.