Non-lichenized Antarctic fungi: transient visitors or members of a cryptic ecosystem?

Bridge, P. D.; Spooner, Brian

doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2012.01.007

Cited by 88 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Although the fungi in Chytridiomycota were considered to be not frequently encountered, they were isolated from Antarctic lakes and ponds with improved method (Paterson 1973). Bridge and Spooner (2012) listed over 400 fungal genera and more than 1000 species that had been reported from Antarctic regions and suggested that “fungi may be the most diverse biota in the Antarctica”.…”

Section: Cold-adapted Fungi and Their Living Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living strategy of cold-adapted fungi with the reference to several representative species

et al. 2017

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Our planet is dominant with cold environments that harbour enormously diverse cold-adapted fungi comprising representatives of all phyla. Investigation based on culture-dependent and independent methods has demonstrated that cold-adapted fungi are cosmopolitan and occur in diverse habitants and substrates. They live as saprobes, symbionts, plant and animal parasites and pathogens to perform crucial functions in different ecosystems. Pseudogymnoascus destructans caused bat white-nose syndrome and Ophiocordyceps sinensis as Chinese medicine are the representative species that have significantly ecological and economic significance. Adaptation to cold niches has made this group of fungi a fascinating resource for the discovery of novel enzymes and secondary metabolites for biotechnological and pharmaceutical uses. This review provides the current understanding of living strategy and ecological functions of cold-adapted fungi, with particular emphasis on how those fungi overcome the extreme low temperature and perform their ecological function.

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Section: Cold-adapted Fungi and Their Living Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living strategy of cold-adapted fungi with the reference to several representative species

et al. 2017

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“…However, not all described fungal species are deposited in the GenBank database, and further taxonomic analyses including detailed physiological and macroand micromorphological characterisation and molecular sequencing of other DNA regions, together with new phylogenetic analyses, will be needed to describe these potentially new species. According to the recent checklist of Antarctic fungi published by Bridge and Spooner (2012), the specimens of Meyerozyma caribbica, Mycoarthris coralline and Yamadazyma mexicana, which were found as minor components within the fungal communities associated with Antarctic macroalgae, represent the first records of these species in Antarctica.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fungi are one of the largest and most diverse kingdoms of eukaryotes and are important biological components of terrestrial ecosystems. According to Bridge and Spooner (2012), there are many records of marine fungi from Antarctica, although there is little available information about their ecological roles. In the present study, some of the fungal taxa found to be associated with Antarctic macroalgae were identified as species known to be mutualists, saprobes and parasites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, some of the fungal taxa found to be associated with Antarctic macroalgae were identified as species known to be mutualists, saprobes and parasites. Bridge and Spooner (2012) suggest that Antarctic fungi occupy many different ecological niches, but their significance in these niches remains poorly understood. Understanding how mutualistic, saprobic and pathogenic fungi achieve their lifestyles is crucial for understanding their ecological functions and their impact on Antarctic macroalgae under the extreme conditions of this continent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fungal mats in the Antarctic exhibit complex communities that are able to survive under extreme environmental conditions, including dehydration, freeze-thaw cycles, low nutrient concentrations, low temperatures, osmotic stress and ultraviolet radiation irradiation (Fell et al, 2006;Gonc¸alves et al, 2012). The Antarctic fungal communities include representatives of genera and species from the major fungal phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Zygomycota, Chytridiomycota and Glomeromycota, as well as Oomycetes (Heterokontophyta, Oomycota) and slime moulds (Mycetozoa) traditionally studied by mycologists (Bridge and Spooner, 2012). In recent decades, mycological studies in Antarctica have mainly focused on the fungi present in soil, ice and lakes, and their associations with plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity and bioprospecting of fungal communities associated with endemic and cold-adapted macroalgae in Antarctica

et al. 2013

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We surveyed the distribution and diversity of fungi associated with eight macroalgae from Antarctica and their capability to produce bioactive compounds. The collections yielded 148 fungal isolates, which were identified using molecular methods as belonging to 21 genera and 50 taxa. The most frequent taxa were Geomyces species (sp.), Penicillium sp. and Metschnikowia australis. Seven fungal isolates associated with the endemic Antarctic macroalgae Monostroma hariotii (Chlorophyte) displayed high internal transcribed spacer sequences similarities with the psychrophilic pathogenic fungus Geomyces destructans. Thirty-three fungal singletons (66%) were identified, representing rare components of the fungal communities. The fungal communities displayed high diversity, richness and dominance indices; however, rarefaction curves indicated that not all of the fungal diversity present was recovered. Penicillium sp. UFMGCB 6034 and Penicillium sp. UFMGCB 6120, recovered from the endemic species Palmaria decipiens (Rhodophyte) and M. hariotii, respectively, yielded extracts with high and selective antifungal and/or trypanocidal activities, in which a preliminary spectral analysis using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicated the presence of highly functionalised aromatic compounds. These results suggest that the endemic and cold-adapted macroalgae of Antarctica shelter a rich, diversity and complex fungal communities consisting of a few dominant indigenous or mesophilic cold-adapted species, and a large number of rare and/or endemic taxa, which may provide an interesting model of algal-fungal interactions under extreme conditions as well as a potential source of bioactive compounds.

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Diversity and community structure of fungi through a permafrost core profile from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

Zhang

et al. 2014

J. Basic Microbiol.

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While a vast number of studies have addressed the prokaryotic diversity in permafrost, characterized by subzero temperatures, low water activity, and extremely low rates of nutrient and metabolite transfer, fungal patterns have received surprisingly limited attention. Here, the fungal diversity and community structure were investigated by culture-dependent technique combined with cloning-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of sediments in a 10-m-long permafrost core from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. A total of 62 fungal phylotypes related to 10 distinct classes representing three phyla were recovered from 5031 clones generated in 13 environmental gene libraries. A large proportion of the phylotypes (25/62) that were distantly related to described fungal species appeared to be novel diversity. Ascomycota was the predominant group of fungi, with respect to both clone and phylotype number. Our results suggested there was the existence of cosmopolitan psychrophilic or psychrotolerant fungi in permafrost sediments, the community composition of fungi varied with increasing depth, while these communities largely distributed according to core layers.

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Non-lichenized Antarctic fungi: transient visitors or members of a cryptic ecosystem?

Cited by 88 publications

References 68 publications

Living strategy of cold-adapted fungi with the reference to several representative species

Living strategy of cold-adapted fungi with the reference to several representative species

Diversity and bioprospecting of fungal communities associated with endemic and cold-adapted macroalgae in Antarctica

Diversity and community structure of fungi through a permafrost core profile from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

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