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Occurrence of the black yeast Hortaea werneckii in the Mediterranean Sea

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Abstract

The occurrence of cultivable fungi was investigated along the water column (25–2500 m depth) of four off-shore stations in the Mediterranean basin. An unexpected high abundance of fungi, accompanied by a scarce biodiversity, was observed up to 2500 m depth. The black yeast Hortaea werneckii, known to be one of the most salt tolerant eukaryotic organisms, was isolated for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea, and it was the dominant fungus present in seawater in almost all stations and depths, suggesting its ubiquitous distribution. Isolation of cultivable strains allowed their phylogenetic and taxonomic characterization, and demonstrated that almost all the retrieved fungal species should be considered of terrestrial origin, but well adapted to survive and reproduce at temperature and salinity conditions of the Mediterranean seawater.

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Acknowledgements

The Cruise and IAMC-CNR-related research were supported by research funds from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) under RITMARE Flagship Project (2012–2016). The authors are grateful to M. M. Yakimov, V. La Cono, and M. Borghini for the seawater samples. We thank Mrs. Sherron Collins for her revision of English text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166, Messina, Italy

    Filomena De Leo, Angelina Lo Giudice, Chiara Alaimo, Giusy De Carlo, Marco Graziano, Emilio De Domenico & Clara Urzì

  2. Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, National Research Council CNR, Spianata San Raineri 86, 98122, Messina, Italy

    Angelina Lo Giudice & Alessandro Ciro Rappazzo

Authors
  1. Filomena De Leo
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  2. Angelina Lo Giudice
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  6. Marco Graziano
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  7. Emilio De Domenico
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  8. Clara Urzì
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Correspondence to Filomena De Leo.

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Communicated by A. Oren.

Dedicated to Luigi Michaud (Messina, Italy 5 October 1974—Antarctica 17 January 2014) whose enthusiasm, professional skills, and friendship will be always in our hearts.

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De Leo, F., Lo Giudice, A., Alaimo, C. et al. Occurrence of the black yeast Hortaea werneckii in the Mediterranean Sea. Extremophiles 23, 9–17 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-018-1056-1

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