Catalase activity in arctic microfungi grown at different temperatures

Abstract

The total of 98 strains of moulds were isolated from soils collected in arctic tundra (Spitzbergen). Among these strains Penicillium cyclopium 1, the most effective for production of catalase, was selected by the method of test-tube microculture. The time course of growth and catalase production by this strain showed the intracellular activity of this enzyme to be about 3-fold higher than its extracellular level Some properties of crude catalase preparation, isolated from postculture liquids by lyophilization, were also examined. Catalase activity showed its maximum at 15 degrees C, indicating adaptation of the enzyme to lower temperatures of the arctic environment.

Studies on diversity of soil microfungi in the Hornsund area, Spitsbergen

“…However, ecophysiological characterizations of these taxa in terms of ther− mal characteristics have rarely been attempted. Taxa that have previously been de− scribed as psychrophilic or psychrotolerant include Mortierella alpina and Mucor hiemalis (Bergero et al 1999;Tosi et al 2002;Gawas−Sakhalkar andSingh 2011), P. lagerbergii (Bergero et al 1999), Geomyces pannorum (Mercantini 1989;Krishnan et al 2011), and Neonectria ramulariae (Fiedurek et al 2003;Chaverri et al 2011). However, the classification of some taxa based on the current study differed from previous reports, including that of Mortierella elongata (cf.…”

“…Both groups have been reported in other studies in the Arctic and Antarctic regions (Bergero et al 1999;Krishnan et al 2011;. The few identified species recorded previously in the Arctic region include Neonectria ramulariae in tundra (Fiedurek et al 2003) et al 2011) reported that filamentous fungi includ− ing the genera Mortierella, Geomyces, Phialocephala, Penicillium, and Mucor were the most frequently isolated taxa. Members of Mortierella, including M. alpina, M. clonocystis, and M. elongata were present in the current study.…”

“…Varicosporium elodeae is an endophyte of highland rushes with a temperate (Yuki et al 2005) and boreal−Arctic−alpine distribution (Chlebicki 2009). Neonectria ramulariae has previously been isolated from Arctic tundra soil (Fiedurek et al 2003), causing cankers in various plants (Chaverri et al 2011). The biological relationships of helotialean fungi in ecosystems are diverse (Wang et al 2006).…”

A novel psychrotrophic fungus, Mortierella minutissima, for D-limonene biotransformation

“…The time of biotransformation of limonene to perillyl alcohol by the Pseudomonas putida was reported to be 5 d (Chatterjee & Bhattacharyya 2001). Mycelial cultures of Mortierella minutissima 01 showed a maximum bioconversion at 15°C (Table 3), which was similar to that of its growth optimum (20°C) (Fiedurek et al 2003). Higher optimum temperatures were reported for bioconversion of limonene to oxygenated products by Pen.…”

“…Fungi used in this study were isolated from soils (Fiedurek et al 2003) in Spitsbergen (lat 77°33¢ N long 14°30¢ E). The composition of media (BM) used for biotransformation of limonene is presented in Table 2.…”