Highlighting the species richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomeromycota) in the Brazilian semi-arid

Abstract

Studies of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) carried out in the semi-arid region of the Brazilian Caatinga during the last 10 years significantly increased knowledge of the taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of these fungi. The Caatinga phytogeographic area has a semi-arid climate and this area is exclusively Brazilian. In this region, AMF are symbiotically associated with most plants growing under various ecological conditions. This review work provides updated knowledge on the presence and distribution of AMF species known to date in this region. A total of 141 species, in 5 orders, 13 families and 31 genera were documented, representing 72.6% of the species regis-tered in Brazil and 41.7% of those known worldwide. These species were found in different habitats as such in natural environments (56.2%), anthropized (37.5%), arboreal areas (15.6%) and in brejos de altitude (high altitude) (6.2%). Of the 141 species, 100 and 41 produced ectocarpic and glomero-carpic spores, respectively. In addition, of the 30 species new for science described from Brazilian type material, nine originated from the semi-arid region. So, this region shows up as a hotspot for AMF species.