FunBrom

Bromeliads represent a major component of neotropical forests and encompass a considerable diversity of life forms and nutritional modes. Bromeliads explore highly stressful habitats and mutualistic associations with fungi may play a crucial role but their driving factors and variations in root-associated fungi remain largely unknown. We found a dual association of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal fungi by high-throughput sequencing approaches. The different species, life forms, and nutritional modes among bromeliad hosts had fungal communities that differ in their taxonomical and functional composition. Our results contribute to a fundamental knowledge base on different fungal groups in previously undescribed Bromeliaceae.