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Fungal symbionts of marine sponges from Rameswaram, southern India: species composition and bioactive metabolites

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Abstract

Ten marine sponge species from Rameswaram, southern India were studied for their filamentous fungal symbionts. The results suggest that fungal symbionts of marine sponges are hyperdiverse. Genera such as Acremonium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium and Penicillium were frequently isolated; no true marine fungal species were present. Species of Aspergillus were dominant and co-dominant in all the sponges screened. The fungal isolates produced antialgal, antifungal, antioxidant, antibiotic, antiinsect metabolites. A few fungi produced acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

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Acknowledgement

TSS and MD acknowledge the financial assistance by Department of Biotechnology (BT/PR10169/AAQ/03/376/2007), New Delhi, Government of India and Dr. G. Sivaleela, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai for identifying the sponge species. TSS thanks Prof. Felix Baerlocher, Department of Biology, Mt. Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada for reading a draft of this paper and Swami Abhiramananda, Chairman, VINSTROM for facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Mylapore, Chennai, 600 004, India

    Nagamani Thirunavukkarasu

  2. Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM), Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Mylapore, Chennai, 600 004, India

    Trichur S. Suryanarayanan, Ambayeram Venkatachalam & Jagadesan P. Ravishankar

  3. Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Government Arts College for Men (Autonomous), Nandanam, Chennai, 600 035, India

    Kozhikottu P. Girivasan

  4. Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology of Madras, Chennai, 600 025, India

    Venkatachalam Geetha & Mukesh Doble

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  1. Nagamani Thirunavukkarasu
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  2. Trichur S. Suryanarayanan
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  3. Kozhikottu P. Girivasan
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  4. Ambayeram Venkatachalam
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Correspondence to Trichur S. Suryanarayanan.

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Thirunavukkarasu, N., Suryanarayanan, T.S., Girivasan, K.P. et al. Fungal symbionts of marine sponges from Rameswaram, southern India: species composition and bioactive metabolites. Fungal Diversity 55, 37–46 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-011-0137-6

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