A systematic review on fungal community composition in rhizosphere soils from plants in Arid and Semi-Arid regions

Diverse microbial communities are established in the rhizosphere and these communities play a fundamental role in numerous agricultural and ecological processes. Bacteria and fungi stand out among other microorganisms present as key components of the microbial community. This review aims to synthesize studies assessing fungal community composition associated with rhizosphere soil of arid and semi-arid regions using molecular based techniques. A deep database search was carried out in several electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Springer Link for relevant studies published between 2005 and 2024 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A database search identified a total of 3,695 results of which only 93 studies were found eligible and thus included in this study. Synthesis of the literature reveals that Ascomycota and Basidiomycota consistently represent the most abundant fungal phyla across the studied regions. Furthermore, several studies identified Mucoromycota , Mortierellomycota , Chytridiomycota , Zygomycota , and Glomeromycota while as symbiotrophs , pathotrophs , pathogens and saprotroph s were the identified functional guilds of fungi associated with the fungal community. Multiple factors, including physicochemical properties, agronomic management, soil depth, and specie genotype influences the fungal community structure and diversity. Furthermore, the ITS was the most utilized region for the amplification of the microbial community. Lastly, the illumina sequencing platform was the most widely employed platforms. Others include Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) PacBio, Ion S5XL™ Sequencing, MGISE, and pyrosequencing platforms. The findings of this systematic review are fundamental for understanding the fungal community associated with plants in arid and semi-arid regions. The results obtained may serve as a guide for a more focused systematic reviews and meta-analyses of rhizosphere fungal communities of other regions.