ENVIRONMENTAL DNA METABARCODING OF FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH BATGUANO IN WANG BURMA CAVE (PERLIS, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA)
Publication Date: 2026/06/01
Publication Volume: Journal of Cave and Karst Science 88 #1
DOI Link: https://dx.doi.org/10.4311/2024MB0117
ABSTRACT:
Discoveries of unique, undescribed cave-dwelling species exhibiting extreme endemism demonstrate their biodiversity richness and specialization to such exclusive environments. Studies on fungi in caves enable understanding of their diversity, distribution, evolution, and physiology, and also facilitate the discovery of harmful pathogens or beneficial species. We hypothesize that Ascomycota would be the dominant phylum associated with bat guano samples, consistent with previous findings from Asian cave systems. This study is the first to document cave fungi species in Peninsular Malaysia through environmental DNA metabarcoding, specifically to identify the species composition of fungi within bat guano samples from Wang Burma Cave, Perlis. Thirty-two distinct amplicon sequence variants were detected among 380,856 sequence reads, revealing Ascomycota as the dominant fungal phylum (>99.99%). Thirteen species were identified, including five new records for Malaysia: Aspergillus caninus, A. chlamydosporus, A. phialosimplex, Candida palmioleophila, and Mortierella rhinolophicola. Penicillium simplicissimum was the most dominant species (67%) across all sampling sites. This study provides the first molecular record of cave-associated fungi in Peninsular Malaysia and highlights the ecological and conservation significance of subterranean fungal communities as indicators of cave ecosystem health.
SIMPLE LANGUAGE SUMMARY:
Caves are home to unusual living things, including fungi that have adapted to darkness, high humidity and very few nutrients. Bat droppings, called guano, are one of the richest food sources in a cave, so they are a good place to look for fungi. Instead of trying to grow fungi in a lab, the authors used a method called environmental DNA metabarcoding: they collected guano samples from Wang Burma Cave in the Malaysian state of Perlis, extracted all the DNA in each sample, and sequenced a short marker gene to identify which fungi were present. This is the first time this method has been used to study cave fungi in Peninsular Malaysia. From nearly 381,000 DNA sequence reads, the team found 32 distinct genetic types of fungi. Almost all of them belonged to the phylum Ascomycota, which matched what the authors expected based on earlier studies of caves elsewhere in Asia. Thirteen fungi could be identified to the species level, and five of them had never been recorded in Malaysia before: Aspergillus caninus, Aspergillus chlamydosporus, Aspergillus phialosimplex, Candida palmioleophila and Mortierella rhinolophicola. The single most common species was Penicillium simplicissimum, which made up about two-thirds of the fungal DNA at every sampling site. Some of the fungi found can cause infections in people or animals, while others produce enzymes and compounds that could be useful in biotechnology. The authors argue that tracking fungal communities like this one is a useful way to monitor the health of cave ecosystems and to guide their conservation.
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