| Summary: | The diversity of <i>Phytophthora</i> species in declining <i>Fagaceae</i> forests in Europe is increasing in the last years. The genus <i>Quercus</i> is one of the most extended <i>Fagaceae</i> genera in Europe, and <i>Q. ilex</i> is the dominant tree in Spain. The introduction of soil-borne pathogens, such as <i>Phytophthora</i> in <i>Fagaceae</i> forests modifies the microbial community present in the rhizosphere, and has relevant environmental and economic consequences. A better understanding of the diversity of <i>Phytophthora</i> spp. associated with <i>Q. ilex</i> is proposed in this study by using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in six <i>Q. ilex</i> stands located in three regions in Spain. Thirty-seven <i>Phytophthora</i> phylotypes belonging to clades 1 to 12, except for clades 4, 5 and 11, are detected in this study, which represents a high diversity of <i>Phytophthora</i> species in holm oak Spanish forests. <i>Phytophthora chlamydospora</i>, <i>P. citrophthora</i>, <i>P. gonapodyides</i>, <i>P. lacustris</i>, <i>P. meadii</i>, <i>P. plurivora</i>, <i>P. pseudocryptogea</i>, <i>P. psychrophila</i> and <i>P. quercina</i> were present in the three regions. Seven phylotypes could not be associated with known <i>Phytophthora</i> species, so they were putatively named as <i>Phytophthora</i> sp. Most of the detected phylotypes corresponded to terrestrial <i>Phytophthora</i> species but aquatic species from clades 6 and 9 were also present in all regions.
|
|---|
