Scholarlink

Background <p>Millipedes are important decomposers in forest ecosystems, but their fecal fungal communities remain poorly understood. This study examined whether fecal fungal communities differ among millipede species and habitats, and clarified whether host species or habitat is the dominant factor shaping community structure.</p> Methods and Results <p>A total of 42 fecal samples were collected from three millipede species (<i>Spirobolus bungii</i>, <i>Oxidus gracilis</i>, and <i>Paracortina</i> sp.) across three mountains (Zijin, Fang, Mufu) in Nanjing, China; the ITS1 region was amplified and sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq platform. At the phylum, family, and genus levels, Ascomycota, Aspergillaceae, and <i>Aspergillus</i> were consistently detected across all three host species. Fungal communities of sympatric species at Fang and Mufu differed significantly (Adonis: <i>F</i> = 3.185, <i>P</i> = 0.001 and <i>F</i> = 1.96, <i>P</i> = 0.001, respectively). Conspecific <i>S. bungii</i> populations from different mountains also differed in composition (Adonis: <i>F</i> = 1.533, <i>P</i> = 0.002), although alpha diversity remained similar. Clustering analysis consistently grouped conspecific populations together, whereas heterospecific populations from the same site formed separate clades. Most importantly, host species explained a greater proportion of community variation (<i>R</i>² = 0.135, <i>P</i> = 0.001) than did habitat (<i>R</i>² = 0.100, <i>P</i> = 0.001). These results indicate that both host species identity and habitat contribute to the assembly of fecal fungal communities, although the effect of host species is stronger than that of environmental variation.</p> Conclusions <p>Both host species and habitat influence fecal fungal community structure, but host species has a stronger effect than habitat. These findings provide new evidence for host-associated specificity in millipede fecal fungal communities and offer a foundation for future studies on their ecological roles in decomposition processes.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Fecal fungal communities of millipedes: host species as the dominant driver rather than habitat factors

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月17日

查看全文
  • Yingzhu Li,
  • Xiaxi Jia,
  • Guanjie Zhao,
  • Jiachen Wang,
  • Hongyi Liu

摘要

Background

Millipedes are important decomposers in forest ecosystems, but their fecal fungal communities remain poorly understood. This study examined whether fecal fungal communities differ among millipede species and habitats, and clarified whether host species or habitat is the dominant factor shaping community structure.

Methods and Results

A total of 42 fecal samples were collected from three millipede species (Spirobolus bungii, Oxidus gracilis, and Paracortina sp.) across three mountains (Zijin, Fang, Mufu) in Nanjing, China; the ITS1 region was amplified and sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq platform. At the phylum, family, and genus levels, Ascomycota, Aspergillaceae, and Aspergillus were consistently detected across all three host species. Fungal communities of sympatric species at Fang and Mufu differed significantly (Adonis: F = 3.185, P = 0.001 and F = 1.96, P = 0.001, respectively). Conspecific S. bungii populations from different mountains also differed in composition (Adonis: F = 1.533, P = 0.002), although alpha diversity remained similar. Clustering analysis consistently grouped conspecific populations together, whereas heterospecific populations from the same site formed separate clades. Most importantly, host species explained a greater proportion of community variation (R² = 0.135, P = 0.001) than did habitat (R² = 0.100, P = 0.001). These results indicate that both host species identity and habitat contribute to the assembly of fecal fungal communities, although the effect of host species is stronger than that of environmental variation.

Conclusions

Both host species and habitat influence fecal fungal community structure, but host species has a stronger effect than habitat. These findings provide new evidence for host-associated specificity in millipede fecal fungal communities and offer a foundation for future studies on their ecological roles in decomposition processes.