Microfungi from Antarctic lichens, mosses and vascular plants

Abstract

Microfungi were isolated from 54 lichen, moss and plant samples collected at two sites (Polish research station ‘Arctowski’ and Argentinean station ‘Jubany’) on King George Island, Antarctica. Fifty-eight taxa, mainly fungi imperfecti, and 63 different types of sterile mycelia were isolated. Seventeen of the identified taxa and 15 sterile types were relatively abundant and were recorded from three samples or more. The distribution of these taxa in the different sample types was analyzed by correspondence analysis. Geographic sampling site tended to be a more relevant indicator of taxonomic composition of mossand lichen-derived fungal assemblages than the exact nature of the sample. In contrast, some plant-derived species were similar in all plants irrespective of sampling site. In general, the distribution of fungi in samples from ‘Jubany’ was more distinctive than in ‘Arctowski’ samples, possibly due to the stronger influence of humans and animals in the vicinity of the latter station.

With respect to temperature requirements for radial growth, 44% of all isolates were mesophilic, 46% psychrotolerant and 10% psychrophilic. The ratios among these groups in plants, mosses and lichens were not identical. Taxa isolated from plants were more often psychrotolerant than mesophilic or psychrophilic. In contrast, a trend indicating a higher proportion of psychrophiles from lichens and a higher proportion of mesophiles from mosses was observed.

Key Words:

• antarctic fungi
• biogeography
• psychrophilic organisms