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Diversity of fungi isolated from three temperate ascidians

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Abstract

Ascidians are known to harbor diverse and host-specific bacterial and archaeal communities in their tunic. However, to date, only one ascidian species has been investigated to assess symbiotic relationships with fungi and the extent of their diversity. In this study, we isolated and identified 37 strains of fungi in association with three common ascidian species in the NW Mediterranean Sea: Cystodytes dellechiajei, Didemnum fulgens, and Pycnoclavella communis, and 15 additional strains from concentrated seawater samples collected around the animals. Most of the isolated fungi were classified within four orders: Eurotiales (predominantly Penicillium spp.), Pleosporales, Hypocreales (predominantly Trichoderma spp.), and Capnodiales (Cladosporium spp.). Three additional fungal isolates from C. dellechiajei and D. fulgens belonged to the orders Helotiales, Phylachorales and Microascales, and matched to well-known plant and human pathogens (Botrytis cinerea, Plectosphaerella cucumerina and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis). Host-specificity of ascidian-associated fungi was not apparent and thus the significance of ascidian-fungal associations for ascidian wellbeing and their possible ecological roles remain unknown.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Spanish Government project MARSYMBIOMICS CTM2013-43287-P, and the Catalan Government grant 2014SGR-336 for Consolidated Research Groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Marine Biology, and Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane, Wilmington, NC, 28409, USA

    Susanna López-Legentil & Patrick M. Erwin

  2. Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Accés Cala S. Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Girona, Spain

    Marta Turon

  3. Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Oded Yarden

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  1. Susanna López-Legentil
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  2. Patrick M. Erwin
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  4. Oded Yarden
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Correspondence to Susanna López-Legentil.

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López-Legentil, S., Erwin, P.M., Turon, M. et al. Diversity of fungi isolated from three temperate ascidians. Symbiosis 66, 99–106 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-015-0339-x

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