Establishment of a germplasm bank of native orchids of southern Ecuador and mycorrhizical fungi associated with them

To conserve the high diversity of species that the country has is a state policy and a responsibility as Ecuadorians, in the case of orchids, Ecuador stands out worldwide with more than 4000 identified species, of which several are threatened or in danger of extinction, the change in plant cover has largely led to this situation in some cases, however, there are also physiological and ecological factors that limit the regeneration On these species, since the orchid seeds depend on mycorrhizic fungi to germinate since they transfer the nutrients to the embion; In short, the success of germination and therefore of conservation is directly related to the presence of mycorrhizic fungus, which according to some authors could be very specific to each species. Under this context the question that arises is: what are the mycorrízic fungi associated with the different species of orchids and how they influence their germination?, This project, intends to answer this question in part of the species present in the south of the country, by insulating the endophite fungal fungus of native orchids, its evaluation in in vitro symbiotic germination tests and the molecular identification of the molecular identification To finally store them in a germplasm bank, together with the orchid seeds, ensuring not only a seed bank but also the fungal strains that will support the process of germination, development and daptation of these plants, being the ultimate goal of the project generate a germoplasma bank of native orchids of the south of Ecuador and endophytes associated with them with the purpose of supporting the conservation of these species.

OUT OF CALL – INTERNAL FUNDS