Fungal microbiomes associated with soil, root and nodules of food-quality winter peas in the Pacific Northwest, USA, Part 1

Autumn-sown food-quality winter pea (WP) cultivars represent an exciting new crop for growers in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), USA. However, understanding interactions between this crop and WP root-colonizing fungi native to PNW soils is necessary to advance disease management options to improve crop production. In this study, we evaluated soil, root and nodule fungal microbiomes associated with three new food-quality WP cultivars and a genetically distant WP genotype when grown in two locations across Washington state. The purpose of this study was to understand regional structuring of fungal microbiomes in WP production systems and identify putative pathogens preferentially colonizing soil, roots and nodule tissue, as well as determine growth-promoting fungi.