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Shaping Fungal Communities in Cenchrus setaceus: Host Condition and Habitat Filtering
Andreea Cosoveanu1,2, Mario Andrés González-Carracedo3, Jorge Sopena Lasala1
1Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, 38200, Spain.
Microbial Ecology
|June 16, 2026
Summary
Plant health influences leaf fungal communities, with stressed plants hosting more diverse fungi. Favorable environments boost fungal richness, while healthy plants support stable, specialized communities, revealing complex ecological interactions.
Area of Science:
- Fungal Ecology
- Plant-Microbe Interactions
- Island Biogeography
Background:
- Leaf-associated fungal communities play a crucial role in plant health and ecosystem function.
- Understanding fungal community assembly is key to predicting plant responses to environmental change.
- Host condition and environmental factors are known to shape microbial communities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the leaf-associated fungal communities of Cenchrus setaceus.
- To determine how host condition (high vs. low) and environmental zones (coast vs. hill, trade-wind exposure) influence fungal assemblages on Tenerife and La Palma.
- To test hypotheses regarding deterministic and stochastic processes in fungal community assembly.
Main Methods:
- Nanopore sequencing was used to characterize fungal communities.
- Functional guild annotation was applied to understand community roles.
- Statistical analyses, including PERMANOVA, were employed to assess community structure and richness patterns.
Main Results:
- Fungal assemblages were island- and zone-specific.
- Low-condition plants generally hosted higher fungal richness, particularly stress-related taxa.
- High-condition plants supported less diverse but more stable and specialized fungal communities, with guild richness influenced by zone-specific conditions in La Palma.
Conclusions:
- Host condition is a primary driver of fungal community structure on Tenerife, while environmental zone is more influential on La Palma.
- Favorable environments enhance fungal guild richness independently of host condition.
- Plant health and environmental context interact to shape leaf fungal communities, impacting ecosystem stability.
