Fungal Community in Soil of Wulongjiang Wetlands Analyzed Using PCR-DGGE

Composition and dynamics of the fungal community in soil of Wulongjiang wetlands were studied. The classical plate count and the denatured gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) were applied to determine the cultivable population and diversity of the community. The plate counts of the samples averaged between 0.13×10⁴ and 8.26×10⁴ CFU per g of dry soil with no significant difference due to the locations or time of collection. On the other hand, the PCR-DGGE patterns of 18S rDNA (V1+V2) fragments exhibited variations on the positions, number and lightness of the bands from different lanes, indicating compositional differences among the fungal populations. The DGGE bands digitally analyzed by Quantity One software and the derived Shannon-Wiener index, evenness and abundance showed greater diversities in the samples obtained in March 2009, September 2009 and January 2010 than other times of a year. They also unveiled the differences in abundance of Sample L > Sample M > Sample R. The dominant fungi in the soil were identified to be Ascomycota and Mucoromycota according to a sequence analysis on the DGGE bands.