Tricholoma matsutake is an economically important ectomycorrhizal mushroom, but artificial cultivation remains challenging. While much research has been conducted on the bacteria and fungi associated with T. matsutake, studies on archaea have been limited. This study compared and analyzed the diversity and structural differences of archaeal communities in the fairy ring and non-fairy ring soils using a metabarcoding approach. The alpha diversity analysis revealed that the archaeal community in fairy ring soil had lower diversity compared to non-fairy ring soil, and beta diversity analysis clearly separated the community structures between the two soil types. Among all analyzed soils, Nitrososphaeria (Nitrososphaerota) dominated the archaeal community at class level. In fairy ring soils, Nitrosotalea (Nitrosotaleaceae) was predominant, while in non-fairy ring soils, Nitrosocaldaceae dominated. These results suggest that Nitrosotalea may have a close association with T. matsutake, highlighting the need for further in-depth research on archaea as potential growth promoting microorganism for T. matsutake mycelial growth.

• 오승윤(창원대학교 자연과학대학 생물학화학융합학부) | Seung-Yoon Oh (Department of Biology and Chemistry, College of Natural Science, Changwon National University, Changwon 51140, Republic of Korea) Corresponding author