Agroforestry Management Systems Drive the Composition, Diversity, and Function of Fungal and Bacterial Endophyte Communities in Theobroma Cacao Leaves.

ABSTRACT: Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is one of the most economically important crops worldwide. Despite the important role of endophytes for plant growth and health, very little is known about the effect of agroforestry management systems on the endophyte communities of T. cacao. To close this knowledge gap, we investigated the diversity, community composition, and function of bacterial and fungal endophytes in the leaves of T. cacao trees growing in five major cacao-growing regions in the central region of Cameroon using DNA metabarcoding. Fungal but not bacterial alpha diversity measures differed significantly between the agroforestry management systems. Interestingly, less managed home-garden cacao forests harbored the lowest fungal richness and diversity. Our r

SUBMITTER: Wemheuer F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7143032 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature