Format: ORAL

Paolo Chasi1*; Ellana Boada1,2 & Andrés Valencia3

1. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Technical University of Cotopaxi, Latacunga, Ecuador 2. Molecular Microbial Ecology Group (gEMM-IEA), Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Girona, Spain 3. School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Ibarra Campus, Ecuador *Corresponding author: wilman.chasi@utc.edu.ec

The Ecuadorian Andes are a unique and highly exploited ecosystem both ecologically and economically. Several species of agricultural interest are produced only in these areas and are therefore known as Andean crops, that is, they are produced above 2000 meters above sea level and under climatic, hydrological and geological conditions typical of the Andes. The type of soil in these ecosystems directly influences the growth of these plant production systems. Taking into account that existing microorganisms are key actors in soil formation, we carried out an analysis of the diversity of native bacterial communities in cultivated soils of the Ecuadorian Andes. These communities could influence carbon and nitrogen fixation, promoting soil fertility and promoting innovations in sustainable high mountain agriculture. Genetic material was extracted from soil samples from potato crops (Solanum tuberosum) located in two altitudinal levels at 3400 and 3800 m. The 16s rRNA V4 region was amplified using the Illumina technique to perform a diversity analysis of the microbial community. These sequences were subsequently refined in silico using the Mothur software. As a result, a central community or core with 437 identified genera was obtained for each altitudinal level, of which 19 are representative members at 3400 msnm and 16 for 3800 msnm. The predominant genera regardless of the altitudinal level were: Raoutella, Stenotrophomonas, and Lysobacter. Rhodanobacter was representative for the community at 3800 m and the Gemmatimonas for 3400 m. We establish then that the richness of the bacterial communities found in the two altitudinal levels and their metabolic functionality balances the agricultural system and contributes to its health and fertility, which promotes the development and productivity of cultivated species and soil conservation.