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Fungi of Antarctica pp 127–146Cite as

Fungi in Snow and Glacial Ice of Antarctica

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Abstract

Antarctica has the largest share of the planet’s ice volume. Almost the entire Antarctic continent is permanently covered in snow and ice. In ice ecosystems, the formation of ice, available liquid water and temperature considerably influence the microbial diversity and the type of microorganisms, including different species of fungi, capable of surviving and/or evolving under the extreme conditions of the cryosphere. Fungi inhabiting these ecosystems are called psychrophilic or psychrotolerant fungi, adapted to survive in the cold conditions. They possess a high genetic and physiological plasticity that makes them valuable targets for taxonomic and evolutionary studies in extreme conditions, besides performing important ecological functions in the biogeochemical cycles of these ecosystems. Within the fungal community inhabiting the snow and ice of Antarctica, some species exhibit growth and metabolic activity at low temperatures and have been investigated as a source of antifreeze substances. Although snow and ice are considered ultra-oligotrophic substrates, they have been shown to be interesting habitats for fungi, and several sampling techniques have been used to isolate and identify these microorganisms. However, studies on the diversity of fungal communities in Antarctic snow and ice are scarce, and few taxa have been identified. This chapter deals with the current scenario of diversity studies on fungi in the snow and ice of Antarctica and reviews their features, functions and biotechnological applications.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Psycho-tolerant microorganisms not only grow well at temperatures close to the freezing point of water but also show high growth rates above 20 °C.

  2. 2.

    Psychrophilic microorganisms show optimal growth at temperatures equal to or less than 15 °C, but cannot grow above 20 °C.

  3. 3.

    Vertical cylindrical holes that form on the ice surface with a thin layer of particles, debris and microorganisms deposited on the bottom and filled with water.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

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

  2. Centro Polar e Climático, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Jefferson Cardia Simões

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  1. Graciéle Cunha Alves de Menezes
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  2. Bárbara Alves Porto
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  3. Jefferson Cardia Simões
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  4. Carlos Augusto Rosa
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  1. Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Luiz Henrique Rosa

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de Menezes, G.C.A., Porto, B.A., Simões, J.C., Rosa, C.A., Rosa, L.H. (2019). Fungi in Snow and Glacial Ice of Antarctica. In: Rosa, L. (eds) Fungi of Antarctica. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18367-7_6

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