Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil from the Pampa Ondulada, Argentina, assessed by pyrosequencing and morphological techniques

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of agronomic practices on the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungalcommunity in soils from the Pampa Ondulada region (Argentina), and to compare conclusions reached when using pyrosequencingor a morphological approach. The AM fungal diversity of 3 agricultural exploitations located in the Pampa Ondulada region(Argentina) was assessed by using 454 amplicon pyrosequencing and morphological (based on spore traits) approaches. Twokinds of soil managements are found in these sites: agronomic and non-agronomic. A total of 188 molecular operationaltaxonomic units and 29 morphological species of AM fungi were identified. No effect of soil management on AM richness wasdetected. AM fungal communities were more diverse and equitable in the absence of agronomic management. In contrast, theresults on -diversity varied according to the methodology used. We concluded that agronomic management of soil has anegative effect on AM fungal community biodiversity in the Pampa Ondulada region. We also conclude that both methodologiescomplement each other in the study of AM fungal ecology. This study greatly improved the knowledge about AM fungi in SouthAmerica where the molecular diversity of AM fungi was practically unknown