Root-colonizing fungi in tropical plant communities of La Reunion island

We collected roots of 30 plant species in tropical communities including angiosperms, ferns, and lycophytes, in three different habitat types on La Reunion island: a recent lava flow (Grand Brule), a wet thicket (Plaine-des-Palmistes), and an ericoid shrubland (Dimitile). We identified root-inhabiting fungi by sequencing both the 18S rRNA and the ITS2 variable regions. We assessed the diversity of mycorrhizal fungal taxa according to plant species and lineages, as well as the structure and specialization of the resulting plant-fungus networks.