Deciphering the wheat seed core mycobiome of two Egyptian cultivars (Giza 171 and Sids 14) by using high throughput amplicon sequencing of the ITS2 region

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important food crop throughout the world. The seed mycobiome is the primary inoculum affecting the overall health and productivity of wheat plants. Seed-borne fungi can have an impact on the production of wheat and cause health complications upon consumption. Therefore, for durable and sustainable wheat production, it is imperative to characterise the wheat mycobiome. The rationale of this study was to investigate the wheat seed mycobiome of two Egyptian wheat cultivars (Sids 14 and Giza 171) using a culture-independent technique. The fungal community in 6 wheat seed samples was identified by high-throughput amplicon sequencing of the ITS2 region using the Illumina MiSeq platform. A total of 162 genera, 111 families, 55 orders and 25 classes have been identified. The fungal communities detected varied between seed samples, with a higher abundance of Ascomycota followed by Basidiomycota. Potential beneficial and pathogenic genera could be detected. Interestingly, a higher abundance of Vishniacozyma, Epicoccum, Cladosporium, Blumeria, Stymphylium, Fusarium, Filobasidium, and Alternaria was observed in the samples. Both Anthracocystis and Nigrospora were detected exclusively in T. aestivum cv. Giza 171. These results open new avenues for further investigation on the role of the mycobiome in Egyptian wheat cultivars. Ultimately, precise identification of both beneficial and pathogenic fungal genera could be accomplished.