3.3 Richness of endophytes
The average taxon richness at species level of endophytic fungi in the
whole fungal communities across control and three radiation levels was
127.30 ± 29.21. Richness of endophytic fungi in aerial tissues was
150.60 ± 12.90 and in roots was 104 ± 21.01. Two-way ANOVA indicated
that tissue origin significantly influenced the richness of endophytic
fungi (p < 0.001). T-test showed that the fungal
richness was significantly more in aerial tissues than in roots (df =
31.543, p < 0.001). In contrast, the bacterial richness
was significantly less in aboveground parts than in belowground parts
(df = 30.122, p < 0.001). The richness of endophytic
bacteria across control and three radiation levels was 163.60 ± 27.95 in
aerial tissues, while it was 252.90 ± 49.15 in roots. Two-way ANOVA
showed that both the tissue types (p < 0.001) and its
interaction with radiation level (p = 0.029) significantly
affected the richness of endophytic bacteria.
The richness of endophytic bacteria and fungi in aerial tissues was
similar among the control and three radiation levels (Fig. 2). In
addition, the richness of endophytic fungi in roots was the same among
the different radiation levels while the richness of endophytic bacteria
at low radiation level was significantly higher than that in control
(Fig. 2).