Spatial variability and environmental drivers of cassava-arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) associations across Southern Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: Cassava, forming starch-rich, tuberous roots, is an important staple crop in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Its relatively good tolerance to drought and nutrient-poor soils may be partly attributed to the crop's association with arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF). Yet insights into AMF-community composition and richness of cassava, and knowledge of its environmental drivers are still limited. Here, we sampled 60 cassava fields across three major cassava-growing agro-ecological zones in Nigeria and used a DNA meta-barcoding approach to quantify large-scale spatial variation and evaluate the effects of soil characteristics and common agricultural practices on AMF community composition, richness and Shannon diversity. We identified 515 AMF operational taxonomic units (OTUs)

SUBMITTER: Thanni B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8786768 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature