Abstract: The endemic and endangered plant P. ludlowii was used as the material, high-throughput sequencing technique was used to sequence and analyze the Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of endophytic fungi and rhizosphere soil fungi in P. ludlowii. The results showed that a total of 796 Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained in all samples. Among them, 228 OTUs were from the root, 55 OTUs from the stem, 70 OTUs from the leaf, 110 OTUs from the flower, 69 OTUs from the fruit. The number of upper, middle, and lower rhizosphere soils respectively were 421, 319, and 258 OTUs, belonging to 8 phylum, 13 class, 27 order, 50 family and 67 genus. The different tissues shared 5 OTUs, and 135 OTUs were shared in different soil samples. Biomarker analysis showed that Mycosphaerellaceae and Cladosporiaceae were mark groups in different plant tissues, and Nectriaceae was mark group in rhizosphere soil. The abundance and diversity of endophytic fungal communities in different tissues of P. ludlowii were different, and the root had the most diverse species of endophytic fungi. The richness and diversity of different fungi in rhizosphere soils were similar. Representative species might have medicinal function in plant tissues and rhizosphere soils, and fungal communities in root and rhizosphere soils were similar. The result of this study provided on basis for further research on endophytic and rhizosphere fungi of P. ludlowii.

Key words: Paeonia ludlowii, fungi, community diversity, the high-throughput sequencing