Thermotolerant mycobiota of Israeli soils

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Composition of thermotolerant mycobiota in the soil of Israeli deserts and northern territories was examined in spatiotemporal dynamics. A total of 165 species from 82 genera were isolated at 37 °C using the soil dilution plate method. Aspergilli (Aspergillus fumigatus and A. niger) and teleomorphic ascomycetes (Canariomyces notabilis, Chaetomium nigricolor, and Ch. strumarium) comprised the basic part of the thermotolerant communities. The desert communities remarkably differed from the northern communities by a much higher abundance of A. fumigatus and teleomorphic species, as well as by a lower abundance of A. niger and Rhizopus arrhyzus. Seasonal dynamics revealed for the southern Negev was expressed mainly in the variations of species richness (substantially lower in the winter), and abundances of A. fumigatus (dominant in the summer) and A. niger (dominant in the winter). The composition of thermotolerant mycobiota was almost entirely different from the composition of mesophilic mycobiota at 25 °C. Melanin-containing fungi with many-celled conidia that dominated mesophilic communities in the deserts did not grow at 37 °C, while prevailing aspergilli accompanied by teleomorphic species with perithecial fruit bodies were apparently able not only to survive but also to germinate at this temperature and be active during a long hot period in the desert.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30-40
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Basic Microbiology
Volume58
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Keywords

  • desert soils
  • diversity
  • microfungal communities
  • seasonal dynamics
  • spatial variations

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

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