{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T05:07:29Z","timestamp":1790140049116,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789948800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation","award":["FID16-257"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FID16-257"]}]},{"name":"National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation","award":["CIU-2025-017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CIU-2025-017"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Soil microeukaryotic communities are essential for nutrient cycling and the maintenance of soil fertility, yet their diversity in tropical agricultural systems remains poorly characterized. In this study, high-throughput metabarcoding of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene was used to characterize soil microeukaryotic communities across three agricultural regions of Panama. A total of 7714 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected in composite soil samples collected from 44 sampling sites. The high-altitude region showed significantly greater species richness and distinct community composition compared with the lowland regions. Principal coordinate analysis identified two major clusters separating the high-altitude and lowland regions. Correlation analyses revealed associations between eukaryotic diversity and soil properties, particularly phosphorus content, electrical conductivity, and terrain slope. Taxonomic assignments, particularly at the species level, should be interpreted cautiously because they are based on 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding and OTU-based classification. These findings contribute to the characterization of soil microeukaryotic diversity in tropical agricultural fields and may support the integration of biodiversity assessments into soil management.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14092124","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T14:12:09Z","timestamp":1789999929000},"page":"2124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Soil Microeukaryote Diversity in the Crop Fields of Panama"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8679-8070","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariel","family":"Monrroy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center in Biochemistry and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, Autonomous University of Chiriqui, David P.O. Box 0427, Panama"},{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, Autonomous University of Chiriqui, David P.O. Box 0427, Panama"},{"name":"National Research System (SNI), National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENACYT), Panama City 0816-02852, Panama"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3229-7676","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Priscila","family":"Moraga-Suazo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronom\u00eda y Sistemas Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile, Av. Vicu\u00f1a Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7810000, Chile"},{"name":"Centro Nacional de Excelencia para la Industria de la Madera (CENAMAD), Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile, Av. Vicu\u00f1a Mackenna 4860, Santiago 8320000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2048-8512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Regis","family":"Le-Feuvre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronom\u00eda y Sistemas Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile, Av. Vicu\u00f1a Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7810000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6602-2988","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9 Ren\u00e1n","family":"Garc\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Center in Biochemistry and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, Autonomous University of Chiriqui, David P.O. Box 0427, Panama"},{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences, Autonomous University of Chiriqui, David P.O. Box 0427, Panama"},{"name":"National Research System (SNI), National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENACYT), Panama City 0816-02852, Panama"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"386","DOI":"10.1093\/biosci\/bix010","article-title":"Agriculture in 2050: Recalibrating Targets for Sustainable Intensification","volume":"67","author":"Hunter","year":"2017","journal-title":"BioScience"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"921","DOI":"10.1111\/padr.12508","article-title":"Rethinking Global Food Demand for 2050","volume":"48","author":"Falcon","year":"2022","journal-title":"Popul. Dev. Rev."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lucero, M.E., DeBolt, S., Unc, A., Ruiz-Font, A., Reyes, L.V., McCulley, R.L., Alderman, S.C., Dinkins, R.D., Barrow, J.R., and Samac, D.A. (2014). 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