A Salinity Threshold Separating Fungal Communities in the Baltic Sea

 

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Autores: Rojas Jiménez, Keilor Osvaldo, Rieck, Angelika, Wurzbacher, Christian, Jürgens, Klaus, Labrenz, Matthias, Grossart, Hans-Peter
Formato: artículo original
Fecha de Publicación:2019
Descripción:Salinity is a significant factor for structuring microbial communities, but little is known for aquatic fungi, particularly in the pelagic zone of brackish ecosystems. In this study, we explored the diversity and composition of fungal communities following a progressive salinity decline (from 34 to 3 PSU) along three transects of ca. 2000 km in the Baltic Sea, the world’s largest estuary. Based on 18S rRNA gene sequence analysis, we detected clear changes in fungal community composition along the salinity gradient and found significant differences in composition of fungal communities established above and below a critical value of 8 PSU. At salinities below this threshold, fungal communities resembled those from freshwater environments, with a greater abundance of Chytridiomycota, particularly of the orders Rhizophydiales, Lobulomycetales, and Gromochytriales. At salinities above 8 PSU, communities were more similar to those from marine environments and, depending on the season, were dominated by a strain of the LKM11 group (Cryptomycota) or by members of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Our results highlight salinity as an important environmental driver also for pelagic fungi, and thus should be taken into account to better understand fungal diversity and ecological function in the aquatic realm.
País:Kérwá
Institución:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Kérwá
OAI Identifier:oai:kerwa.ucr.ac.cr:10669/78894
Acceso en línea:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00680/full
https://hdl.handle.net/10669/78894
Palabra clave:Fungal diversity
Baltic sea
Salinity gradient
Brackish waters
Chytridiomycota
Cryptomycota