Effect of seasonality on the soil fungal communities associated with palms in different ecosystems of San Martin, Meta.

Microorganisms play an essential role in ecosystem processes and regulation of biogeochemical cycles, participating in decomposition and facilitating resources for plants. The rhizosphere serves as an interface to facilitate signaling and interactions between plants and soil microorganisms affecting plant development, productivity, and adaptability. The microbiome present in the rhizosphere is influenced by environmental characteristics, soil physicochemical properties, as well as plant-specific factors (i.e. genotype and developmental stage). Thus, the rhizosphere is a layer that plays a crucial role in the proper functioning of ecosystems. However, extreme climatic events, such as droughts and flooding produce changes in microbial activity and composition. For instance, in seasonally flooded forests, runoff can change the composition of microorganisms favoring those resistant to heavy metals and anaerobic conditions.There are many challenges in understanding how microbial communities will respond to these extreme climatic events, which affect soil physicochemical properties as well as the plant community. In addition, there is a significant lack of knowledge about the diversity and composition of microbial communities associated with tropical forests, especially palm trees. These ecosystems are increasingly threatened due to extensive cattle ranching, agriculture and the emergence of diseases. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify which biotic and abiotic factors influence fungi associated with rhizosphere and root of palms in three tropical ecosystems (seasonally flooded, terra firme and Morichales - dominated by the species Mauritia flexuosa), during the rainy and dry seasons. The palm family is widely distributed in the tropics and is highly valued as a food source, as well as for its cultural, economic and medicinal importance. Therefore, rhizosphere and root fungi will be analyzed by DNA extraction techniques, as well as analysis of soil physicochemical properties. The ITS2 region will be used for fungi. DNA will be sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform.