Metabarcoding技术在真菌多样性研究中的应用

由于受到气候变化、土地利用变化及环境污染等诸多因素的干扰, 真菌多样性受到不容忽视的威胁, 亟需得到保护。构建物种数据库是实现真菌多样性研究和保护的重要前提。近年来兴起的DNA条形码及metabarcoding技术能够在很大程度上弥补传统鉴定方法的缺陷, 可对真菌物种进行大规模、准确、快速、高效地鉴定。本文梳理了metabarcoding技术在真菌物种多样性评估、真菌多样性影响机制和真菌古生态重建等研究中的应用, 同时强调了metabarcoding技术用于真菌多样性研究尚处于初期阶段, 在构建有效参照数据库、优化实验流程以及升级生物信息学工具等方面仍需要进一步的完善。建议加强真菌分类学家、生态学家以及计算机工具研发工程师之间的合作, 共同解决metabarcoding技术在真菌多样性研究及应用中面临的问题, 为宏观尺度上真菌多样性保护提供更加科学的依据。

Application of metabarcoding technology in studies of fungal diversity

Fungal diversity is threatened by climate change, land-use change, and environmental pollution, and requires urgent conservation action. Construction of the fungal species database is an important prerequisite for the study and conservation of fungal diversity. Recently developed DNA barcoding and metabarcoding technologies can provide accurate, rapid, and highly efficient identification on a large scale, and to a large extent compensate for the defects of traditional identification methods. In this paper, we review the application of metabarcoding in fungal species diversity assessment, the study of mechanisms underlying fungal diversity, and the reconstruction of fungal palaeoecology. We emphasize that the application of metabarcoding technology in fungal diversity studies is still in the primary phase, and greater efforts are needed in the construction of reliable reference databases, the optimization of experimental procedures, and updates of bioinformatics tools. Hence, we suggest enhancing cooperation among fungal taxonomists, ecologists, and computer technicians. They should work together to address problems in fungal diversity studies via metabarcoding, which would provide more sound scientific evidence for fungal diversity conservation on a large scale.