Plant functional group and soil character: two effective factors to define endophytic fungal diversity in a gypsum-rich environment.

Wide gypsophiles in a gypsum-rich desert ecosystem in central Iran host the most diverse endophytic fungal assemblages, with 4482 isolates yielding 44 OTUs across 8 classes.

• Why it matters: Gypsum soils strongly constrain plants, but the diversity and ecological drivers of their endophytic fungi in gypsum habitats are poorly understood.
• What they did: Over two years, 11,520 plant fragments from ten plant species (wide, narrow, gypsovags) were cultured and analyzed; mixed-effects models tested OTU richness and Shannon diversity against functional group, organ type, and soil variables.
• The result: Plant functional group, organ type, and soil variables (notably cation exchange capacity, saturated soil moisture, and bicarbonate) significantly shaped diversity, while PERMANOVA showed host species as the strongest driver of community composition.

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