Seasonal dynamics of root-associated fungal microbiomes in annual and perennial halophytes

In this study, we investigated root-associated endophytic fungal microbiomes in four species of halophytes, two annuals (Salicornia procumbens and Suaeda maritima) and two perennials (Atriplex portulacoides and Puccinellia maritima) over three seasons: spring, summer and autumn. Samples were collected in a salt marsh on the island of Spiekeroog (Germany) in 2020. We used Illumina sequencing (ITS1 region rDNA) to reveal the fungal communities associated with each sample. This is the first study to use amplicon sequencing to study fungal microbiomes in A. portulacoides, P. maritima and S. maritima.