1090 / 2024-09-20 11:34:08
Mangrove endophytic fungal diversity via metagenomics – a systematic review
mangrove endophytes,amplicon sequencing
Session 33 - Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions
Abstract Accepted
Ekaterina Efimova / Xiamen University Malaysia
Wei Lun Ng / Xiamen University Malaysia
Mangroves are unique coastal ecosystems critical for protecting shorelines, sequestering carbon and harboring biodiversity. Despite their importance, mangrove microbial communities, especially endophytic fungi, remain largely understudied. These fungi, live symbiotically inside plant tissues without causing harm, are play an important ecological role. Metagenomics offers a cutting-edge approach to explore the diversity and function of these fungi revealing twice as many species as traditional cultivation methods. Cultivation methods are particularly ineffective at detecting basidiomycetes due to the lack of necessary conditions in the laboratory. Current literature on mangrove endophytic fungi using metagenomics is sparse and fragmented.
Our study highlights the importance of endophytic fungi in mangrove ecosystems and emphasizes the potential of metagenomics to uncover their diversity and ecological functions. A systematic literature review using available and widely used databases: Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, NCBI, ASM, and BioMed revealed a significant gap in research regarding these symbiotic microorganisms despite their importance in mangrove ecosystems.


The identified publications span the period of 2012 to 2024 and represent the known body of knowledge on the use of metagenomics methods in the study of endophytic fungi in mangroves. These studies were conducted in different areas of the world: New Caledonia (France), Mumbai (India), Taiwan, and Guangdong Province (China), and focus on the key mangrove species: Acanthus ilicifolius, Avicennia marina, Rhizophora stylosa, Aegiceras corniculatum, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Kandelia candel, and Excoecaria agallocha. Results of this study illustrate the diverse ecological contexts in which endophytic fungi exist, but also suggest that additional research is needed to fully understand the extent of fungal diversity among other mangrove species and regions.


 By synthesizing provided studies in the current research and identifying knowledge gaps, this review establishes directions for future development of deeper understanding of the complex world of mangrove endophytic fungi.