Arenicolous marine fungi of sandy beaches of Taiwan

Abstract

This study investigated the morphological diversity of arenicolous marine fungi (only those forming fruiting bodies on sand grains) at 11 sandy beaches in Taiwan. The species of Corollospora were identified by ascospore morphology and confirmed through a phylogenetic analysis of the 28S rDNA with other published sequences. The phylogenetic analysis revealed four previously unknown clades of Corollospora spp. related to C. portsaidica, while differences in ascospore morphology of the isolates in these four clades were observed. A total of 13 species of arenicolous marine fungi was identified from the 11 sandy beaches, including two Arenariomyces spp., nine Corollospora spp. (including four unknown Corollospora clades), Kohlmeyeriella crassa and Carbosphaerella cf sp. Taan Beach had the highest species richness (eight species), followed by Yongzhen Sea Park and Pisirian (five species each). The Shannon’s diversity index revealed the highest diversity at Taan Beach (1.51) over Pisirian (1.44), but the diversity was more even at the latter site (Pielou’s evenness index = 0.9) compared with the former (0.73). Non-metric multidimensional scaling suggests that there was generally a divide in the fungal community composition between the east and the west coasts of Taiwan.

Redefining the Genus Corollospora Based on Morphological and Phylogenetic Approaches

“…Data from the ITS was then considered required for the establishment of new genera, contributing the 28S gene for a second level of validation. The 18S gene was included to allow comparison of threshold values and evaluation of suitability in phylogenetic analyses aiming at species identification, frequently performed with the inclusion of 18S sequences, namely in concatenated MSAs and coalescent analyses [ 8 , 20 , 48 ].…”

“…Other studies [ 17 ] have shown that Nereiospora species are distantly placed from Corollospora . Subsequently, many studies included molecular approaches to address the taxonomy of Corollospora species [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 14 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 ] and other genera within the Halosphaeriaceae, which were described as being primarily marine, generally having appendaged or sheathed ascospores, with asexual morphs known for only a few genera [ 8 ].…”

“…Corollospora maritima is most frequently collected on marine woody and herbaceous substrates associated with sand grains and from sea foam [ 16 , 20 , 21 ] and plays an important environmental role as a saprobe. Interesting traits have been attributed to this fungus, such as the production of a biocompound (corollosporine) with antibacterial activity [ 22 ] and the ability to decompose hydrocarbon complexes such as petroleum [ 19 ]; it was also proposed as a bioindicator of sand beaches degradation [ 23 ].…”

Lanspora dorisauae, a new marine fungus from rocky shores in Taiwan

“…Trapped wood was collected at a rocky shore (25°14′41.9″N 121°38′04.2″E) in Jin-Shan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan on 1 June 2022, placed on Ziplock plastic bag and transported to the laboratory at National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung ( Pang et al, 2023 ). The wood was cleaned briefly in running water, incubated on a tray and kept in a Ziplock plastic bag at room temperature (~25 °C) under a 12:12 light dark cycle.…”