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Extracellular hydrolase enzyme production by soil fungi from King George Island, Antarctica

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Abstract

Various microbial groups are well known to produce a range of extracellular enzymes and other secondary metabolites. However, the occurrence and importance of investment in such activities have received relatively limited attention in studies of Antarctic soil microbiota. In order to examine extracellular enzyme production in this chronically low-temperature environment, fungi were isolated from ornithogenic, pristine and human-impacted soils collected from the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica during the austral summer in February 2007. Twenty-eight isolates of psychrophilic and psychrotolerant fungi were obtained and screened at a culture temperature of 4°C for activity of extracellular hydrolase enzymes (amylase, cellulase, protease), using R2A agar plates supplemented with (a) starch for amylase activity, (b) carboxymethyl cellulose and trypan blue for cellulase activity or (c) skim milk for protease activity. Sixteen isolates showed activity for amylase, 23 for cellulase and 21 for protease. One isolate showed significant activity across all three enzyme types, and a further 10 isolates showed significant activity for at least two of the enzymes. No clear associations were apparent between the fungal taxa isolated and the type of source soil, or in the balance of production of different extracellular enzymes between the different soil habitats sampled. Investment in extracellular enzyme production is clearly an important element of the survival strategy of these fungi in maritime Antarctic soils.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Malaysian Antarctica Research Program and the University of Malaya for support and the provision of research facilities, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Postgraduate Research Fund PS175/2008 and PS253/2009C, and the Instituto Antarctico Chileno for logistics and support of the fieldwork. We thank M. Bölter, A.J.S. Whalley and anonymous reviewers for helpful and constructive comments on earlier manuscript versions. Figure 1a was provided by P. Fretwell of the BAS Mapping and Geographic Information Centre. PC is a member of the BAS core ‘Polar Science for Planet Earth’ programme. This paper also contributes to the SCAR ‘Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica’ research programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Abiramy Krishnan & Siti Aisyah Alias

  2. Biotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong

  3. Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, 2 Pei-Ning Road, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan, ROC

    Ka-Lai Pang

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

    Peter Convey

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  1. Abiramy Krishnan
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  2. Siti Aisyah Alias
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  4. Ka-Lai Pang
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  5. Peter Convey
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Correspondence to Siti Aisyah Alias.

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Krishnan, A., Alias, S.A., Wong, C.M.V.L. et al. Extracellular hydrolase enzyme production by soil fungi from King George Island, Antarctica. Polar Biol 34, 1535–1542 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1012-3

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