# ITS Sequencing Reveals the Changing Characteristics of Fungal Communities in Different Rice-Growing Substrates Under Salt Stress

## TL;DR

This study uses ITS sequencing to explore how different rice-growing substrates affect fungal communities under salt stress.

## Contribution

The study reveals how substrate properties influence fungal responses to salt stress, identifying key fungal biomarkers.

## Key findings

- Salt stress did not significantly alter fungal community diversity or richness across substrates.
- Penicillium abundance was positively correlated with total porosity, while Acrostalagmus showed a negative correlation under non-saline conditions.
- Lefse analysis identified biomarkers and core fungal communities responding to substrate changes or salt stress.

## Abstract

Culture substrates with different physicochemical properties affect the initial structure of fungal communities and their response to salt stress. This study set up four culture substrates with different physicochemical properties, and the salt stress environment was artificially simulated. The changing characteristics of fungal communities in different rice-growing substrates under salt stress were revealed using ITS sequencing.

The impact of substrates with different physicochemical properties on the response of rhizosphere fungi in rice to salt stress has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study is to reveal the adaptation characteristics of fungal colonies to salt stress under different substrate conditions and the relationship between different properties of substrates and fungal colonies. Four different substrates were set by adjusting the sand, peat moss, and laterite ratio, with different bulk density, total porosity, and nutrient content. The same dose of sodium chloride solution was added to each substrate, and water was used as the control. The results showed that salt stress did not cause significant changes in the diversity and richness of fungal communities in different substrates. This study found that the responses of Ascomycota and Penicillium to salt stress varied depending on the substrate. The abundance of Penicillium was significantly positively correlated with total porosity (saline or non-saline conditions), but that of Acrostalagmus was significantly negatively correlated with total porosity under non-saline conditions. In addition, Lefse multi-level species difference discrimination analysis identified biomarkers in different treatments and revealed the core communities in response to substrate changes or salt stress. The results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the ecological functions of fungi.