Antarctic algal-fungal associations

Antarctic lakes, soils and ice have shown the complex communities associated with plants, however there has not been much research on the algal-fungal association in the Antarctic marine environments. Godinho et al, 2013 aim to assess the diversity and distribution of fungal communities and explore their association with cold adapted macroalgae across the Antarctic Penninsula.

Thalli of eight macroalgal species were collected during December 2010 and January 2011 at intertidal transects along a rocky coastline along the Antarctic Peninsula. Macroalgae were identified and fungal specimens were isolated and incubated for 60 days before being purified. Fungi were identified to species using amplification of the ITS region and b-tubulin sequences. Diversity, richness and dominance of the fungal taxa were determined and assays for antimicrobial activity were carried out.

DNA sequences of the ITS region and b-tubulin gene from 148 fungal isolates, recovered from 391 tissue fragments from the eight macroalgal species identified they were from 21 different genera within the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and subphylum Mortierellomycotina The number of fungal taxa and diversity differed among macroalgae however the most represented order in majority of communities was Eurotiales and Penicillium species was the most frequent fungal taxa identified with 35.8% of samples. Overall there were high levels of fungal diversity associated with the Antarctic macroalgae however the values of diversity differed among the macroalgae species. Penicillium species were able to produce bioactive extracts, which may enable them to survive the extreme environment of the Antarctic. Both species of Penicillium showed antifungal activity against different species of fungi, which may have lead to the dominance of this fungus.

This paper has provided supporting evidence that the Antarctic fungi diversity is much higher than previously anticipated. This paper also highlights the ecological importance of macroalgae and associated fungi and possible future research based on this paper may also provide insight into the benefits of these algal-fungal interactions, including the potential into new insights into the biological mechanisms resulting in the tolerance of the macroalgae to the extreme marine polar regions.

Godinho, V., Furbino, L., Santiago, I., Pellizzari, F., Yokoya, N., Pupo, D., Alves, T., S Junior, P., Romanha, A., Zani, C., Cantrell, C., Rosa, C. and Rosa, L. (2013). Diversity and bioprospecting of fungal communities associated with endemic and cold-adapted macroalgae in Antarctica. The ISME Journal, 7(7), pp.1434-1451.