Dynamics of Mycobiota during Composting of Cow Manure and Straw

Abstract

The study of the dynamics of mycobiota during composting of cow manure and wheat straw using DNA barcoding and culture method was carried out. Using DNA barcoding, fungi of phylla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, Chytridiomycota, Rozellomycota, Aphelidiomycota were found. Cultural method (plating) identified Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mucoromycota. All the orders of fungi established by the plating method, with the exception of Saccharomycetales in Ascomycota and Mucorales in Mucoromycota, were also discovered using DNA barcoding, but many others were the latter. The coincidence of the species detected by both methods was very rare. Changes in the number of colony-forming and operational-taxonomic units of taxa of different levels during the transformation of manure with straw into compost were traced. DNA barcoding made more fully identify changes in the taxonomic and ecological-trophic structure of the fungal community during composting of manure and straw. They are expressed in a significant increase in the representation of basidiomycetes, especially Coprinus spp., Coprinellus spp., in compost, capable of transformation of lignin, complex organic substances of manure, and a decrease in the proportion of abundantly spore-bearing, “sugar” and cellulolytic ascomycetes dominating in the initial substrates: Sordariomycetes in manure and Dothideomycetes in straw. During composting, significant rearrangements occurred in the composition of coprophilic, epiphytic and phytopathogenic fungi. The importance of toxin-forming, allergenic and thermophilic species of fungi that pose a danger to human health, and the possibility of assessing the readiness of compost for application to the soil as a biofertilizer, taking into account data on mycobiota, are discussed.