Adaptive spatiotemporal distribution of soil microfungi in ‘Evolution Canyon’ II, Lower Nahal Keziv, western Upper Galilee, Israel

Abstract

We describe and interpret spatiotemporal micromycete community structure and adaptive complexes in contrasting xeric and mesic microclimates in the soils of ‘Evolution Canyon’ II, Lower Nahal Keziv, western Upper Galilee, Israel. A total of 192 species from 60 genera belonging to Zygomycota (nine species), Ascomycota (13 species), and mitosporic fungi (170 species) were isolated. The fungal communities on the south‐facing, xeric, ‘African’ slope (AS) demonstrated significantly greater diversity than on the north‐facing, mesic, ‘European’ slope (ES) and the valley bottom (VB). Seasonally, winter slope communities were less heterogeneous. Forest localities on the ES and the VB in all seasons and the shady localities on the AS in the winter were overwhelmingly dominated by mesophilic Penicillium species. The sunny locality on the AS was characterized by a dominance of melanin‐containing micromycetes that was most pronounced in the summer and by high occurrence and abundance of thermotolerant and thermophilic Aspergillus and Fusarium species. Ascomycetes and zygomycetes were the minor components in all local mycobiota studied; sexual ascomycetes, being stress‐selected fungi, were more than ten times more abundant in the soil of the AS than in that of the ES, with the peak of abundance in the sunny summer community. The results demonstrated a microscale adaptive spatiotemporal inter‐ and intraslope divergence in soil mycobiota structure. Microclimatic natural selection appears to be the major factor affecting soil fungus diversity patterns. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 78, 527–539.

Evolution of genomic diversity and sex at extreme environments: Fungal life under hypersaline Dead Sea stress

“…Both genomic diversity and sex seem to follow the rise and fall pattern, increasing with stress toward the hypersaline edge of life, where both appear to decline drastically. Indeed, stressful conditions are known to increase genetic polymorphism, recombination, mutation, gene conversion, and sex (50), as we have shown also at the EC microscale model of life in the soil fungus Sordaria fimicola (51,52) (32) but also locally in the ''African'' stressful slope in ECI and ECII (25,53). Clearly, increases in mutation, recombination, gene conversion, and sex ensure higher levels of genetic diversity, providing a higher potential for genetic adaptation.…”

“…was recovered from the shoreline of the hypersaline DSW up to a depth of 280 m (18); the Dead Sea terrestrial shore (DSTS) (23), including the Arubotaim salt cave (Mount Sedom) (24); the freshwater Jordan River; § and the nonsaline soil of ''Evolution Canyon'' II (ECII) in Lower Nahal Keziv (western Upper Galilee) (ref. 25; Fig. 1).…”

Transport of microorganisms to Israel during Saharan dust events

“…Taxonomic identification was based on the morphological characteristics of fungal isolates described previously by Grishkan, Nevo, Wasser, & Beharav (2003).…”

Identifying the fundamental units of bacterial diversity: A paradigm shift to incorporate ecology into bacterial systematics

“…We surveyed multilocus diversity among strains of Bacillus simplex and the Bacillus subtilis-Bacillus licheniformis clade isolated from the ''Evolution Canyons'' of Israel, which are arid, east-westrunning canyons providing three major habitat zones-northand south-facing slopes with extremely different levels of inso-lation and a usually dry streambed at the canyon bottom (17)(18)(19)(20). We will demonstrate that many of the ecotypes predicted by ES are adapted to the different microhabitats of the canyons.…”