Unveiling the mycobiome of ecological importance from termitarium soils

Abstract

Background Termitarium is an intricate biological home with exceptional physicochemical soil properties and numerous beneficial microbiomes. The termitarium microbiome plays a role in several bionetwork processes. It contributes significantly to sustainable agriculture, forestry, and horticulture. In contrast to the immense number of research works focusing on termitarium bacteria and archaea, the amount of study about termitarium fungal communities is limited. This is despite the fact that fungi significantly contribute to the cycling of energy and matter on Earth. Thus, this study investigates the metagenomic datasets from termitarium soil collected from agricultural soils, to obtain a depiction of their mycobiome of ecological importance.

Results Our dataset showed that Ascomycota was the most rank phylum, while Basidiomycota was the next in rank. Specifically, we identified numerous fungi of commercially importance, for example, producers of cellulases and cellulosomes. This was strengthened with the presence of functional genes/enzymes capable of promoting plant growth traits and defence system. Analysis further shown that soil properties influenced the distribution of fungal communities. Magnesium, nitrogen, and potassium, for example, were observed to be among the best predictor of fungal distribution and explained 87.40% of the total variation.

Conclusion This study epitomize further insights into the mycobiome of termitarium soils that are of ecological interest. Again, with some of our sequences assembled as uncategorized fungi, further studies are recommended for the evaluation of the metabolic potentials of these fungi as there is a possibility of the discovery of new fungi or genes of industrial or environmental applications.