Research

Searching for eukaryotic life preserved in Antarctic permafrost

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Abstract

Fungi and yeasts isolated in pure culture from Antarctic permafrost collected at different depths in the McMurdo Dry Valleys were identified with cultural, physiological and molecular methods. Fungi belonged to the genera Penicillium, Eurotium, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Engyodonthium, Aureobasidium, Cordyceps, Rhizopus and yeasts to the genera Cryptococcus and Sporidiobolus. All the strains can be defined as mesophilic psychrotolerant. The molecular analyses revealed that these fungal genotypes do not deviate from the global gene pool of fungi commonly spreading worldwide at present, but possible ancestral strains have been found on the base of metabolic profiles.

McMurdo Dry Valley Antarctica Antarctic region Upper Victoria Lake Antarctica Antarctic region Antarctic permafrost GenBank sequence data gene pool psychrotolerance species diversity Fungi Plantae (Fungi Microorganisms Nonvascular Plants Plants) - Ascomycetes [15100] Eurotium genus Cordyceps genus Fungi Plantae (Fungi Microorganisms Nonvascular Plants Plants) - Fungi Imperfecti or Deuteromycetes [15500] Penicillium genus Cladosporium genus Alternaria genus Aureobasidium genus Sporidiobolus genus Cryptococcus genus Fungi Plantae (Fungi Microorganisms Nonvascular Plants Plants) - Phycomycetes [15900] Rhizopus genus Plantae (Fungi Microorganisms Nonvascular Plants Plants) - Fungi [15000] Engyodonthium genus 07502 Ecology: environmental biology - General and methods 07506 Ecology: environmental biology - Plant 07512 Ecology: environmental biology - Oceanography 40000 Soil microbiology 52801 Soil science - General and methods Ecology Environmental Sciences cultural method laboratory techniques molecular method laboratory techniques physiological method laboratory techniques Biodiversity Marine Ecology Soil Science