Fungal endophyte communities are poorly investigated in extreme habitats such as deserts. We used cultivation and Sanger sequencing to investigate the effects of environmental variables on the endophytic fungal communities of eight Iranian desert plants. Host species was the main factor shaping the endophyte composition, while soil type additionally affected endophytes of above- and below-ground organs. Redundancy analysis showed that soil pH and electric conductivity determine fungal endophyte communities in plants in dry and saline soils. In a follow-up experiment, we showed that these endophytes could be used in crop production under salinity/drought stress and as biocontrol agents. Although compared to other ecosystems, the endophytic fungi associated with the studied Iranian desert plants are of low diversity, our results suggest that they probably play an essential role in the survival of their hosts. Further investigation is necessary to evaluate the potential benefits and applicability of such endophytes in agricultural practices in drylands.

在诸如沙漠之类的极端生境中，真菌内生菌群落的研究很少。我们使用栽培和桑格测序来研究环境变量对八种伊朗沙漠植物内生真菌群落的影响。寄主物种是影响内生菌组成的主要因素，而土壤类型还会影响地上和地下器官的内生菌。冗余分析表明，土壤pH和电导率决定了干旱和盐渍土壤中植物的真菌内生菌群落。在后续实验中，我们表明这些内生菌可用于盐分/干旱胁迫下的农作物生产以及作为生物防治剂。尽管与其他生态系统相比，与研究的伊朗沙漠植物相关的内生真菌的多样性较低，我们的结果表明，它们可能在宿主的存活中起重要作用。有必要进行进一步调查，以评估此类内生菌在旱地农业实践中的潜在利益和适用性。