ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAS IN THE ROOTS OF AFZELIA AFRICANA, ENTADA AFRICANA, AND PTEROCARPUS ERINACEUS

Afzelia africana, Entada africana, and Pterocarpus erinaceus are economically important tropical tree species in Africa. In this study, we performed morphological and molecular analyses to examine the mycorrhizal status of these species in their natural habitat in Benin, West Africa. Fine roots were examined using trypan blue staining. Putative arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were identified by extracting root DNA and sequencing the large subunit region of ribosomal DNA. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were positioned on a consensus phylogenetic tree produced using maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining models. Morphological analyses revealed vesicles, arbuscules, and inter- and intracellular hyphae in roots of all three tree species. Molecular analyses revealed 39 AMF OTUs, among which 18 were from roots of E. africana, 15 from P. erinaceus, and 9 from A. africana. These OTUs belonged to Glomus, Nanoglomus, Rhizoglomus, Sclerocystis, Septoglomus, and Scutellospora; two unidentified species belonged to the family Glomeraceae. This is the first study to report AMF in roots of A. africana, E. africana, and P. erinaceus in Benin, and opens new avenues for future studies.Peer reviewe