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Fungi in the Antarctic Cryosphere: Using DNA Metabarcoding to Reveal Fungal Diversity in Glacial Ice from the Antarctic Peninsula Region

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

We assessed fungal diversity present in glacial from the Antarctic Peninsula using DNA metabarcoding through high-throughput sequencing (HTS). We detected a total of 353,879 fungal DNA reads, representing 94 genera and 184 taxa, in glacial ice fragments obtained from seven sites in the north-west Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands. The phylum Ascomycota dominated the sequence diversity, followed by Basidiomycota and Mortierellomycota. Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp., Penicillium atrovenetum, Epicoccum nigrum, Pseudogymnoascus sp. 1, Pseudogymnoascus sp. 2, Phaeosphaeriaceae sp. and Xylaria grammica were the most dominant taxa, respectively. However, the majority of the fungal diversity comprised taxa of rare and intermediate relative abundance, predominately known mesophilic fungi. High indices of diversity and richness were calculated, along with moderate index of dominance, which varied among the different sampling sites. Only 26 (14%) of the total fungal taxa detected were present at all sampling sites. The identified diversity was dominated by saprophytic taxa, followed by known plant and animal pathogens and a low number of symbiotic fungi. Our data suggest that Antarctic glacial ice may represent a hotspot of previously unreported fungal diversity; however, further studies are required to integrate HTS and culture approaches to confirm viability of the taxa detected.

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Data Availability

All raw sequences have been deposited in the NCBI database under the codes SRX9966699, SRX9966700, SRX9966701, SRX9966702, SRX9966703, SRX9966704, SRX9966705, and SRX9966706.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the generous support of MSc. Rodrigo Paidano Alves in preparation of Fig. 1. We also thank congresswoman Jô Moraes and the Biological Sciences Institute of the University of Brasilia

Funding

We acknowledge financial support from PROANTAR CNPq (442258/2018–6), INCT Criosfera, FAPEMIG, CAPES, and FNDCT. GCA de Menezes’ scholarship was supported by CNPq (151195/2019–6). P. Convey is supported by NERC core funding to the British Antarctic Survey’s “Biodiversity, Evolution and Adaptation” Team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, , CEP 31270-901, Brazil

    Graciéle Cunha Alves de Menezes, Carlos Augusto Rosa & Luiz Henrique Rosa

  2. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

    Paulo E. A. S. Câmara & Micheline Carvalho-Silva

  3. Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

    Otávio Henrique Bezerra Pinto

  4. British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    Peter Convey

  5. Department of Zoology , University of Johannesburg , Johannesburg, South Africa

    Peter Convey

  6. Centro Polar E Climático, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Jefferson Cardia Simões

Authors
  1. Graciéle Cunha Alves de Menezes
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  2. Paulo E. A. S. Câmara
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  5. Micheline Carvalho-Silva
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  7. Carlos Augusto Rosa
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  8. Luiz Henrique Rosa
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Contributions

GCAM, LHR, JCS, and PEASC conceived the study. GCAM and LHR performed fungal DNA extraction from ice. GCAM, LHR, PEASC, OHBZ, PC, MCS, JCS, and CAR analyzed the results and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luiz Henrique Rosa.

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The collections and studies performed in Antarctic Peninsula were authorized by the Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty and by PROANTAR.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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de Menezes, G.C.A., Câmara, P.E.A.S., Pinto, O.H.B. et al. Fungi in the Antarctic Cryosphere: Using DNA Metabarcoding to Reveal Fungal Diversity in Glacial Ice from the Antarctic Peninsula Region. Microb Ecol 83, 647–657 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-021-01792-x

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