Cultivable fungi present in Antarctic soils: taxonomy, phylogeny, diversity, and bioprospecting of antiparasitic and herbicidal metabolites

Abstract

Molecular biology techniques were used to identify 218 fungi from soil samples collected from four islands of Antarctica. These consisted of 22 taxa of 15 different genera belonging to the Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. Mortierella, Antarctomyces, Pseudogymnoascus, and Penicillium were the most frequently isolated genera and Penicillium tardochrysogenum, Penicillium verrucosus, Goffeauzyma gilvescens, and Mortierella sp. 2 the most abundant taxa. All fungal isolates were cultivated using solid-state fermentation to obtain their crude extracts. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, Mortierella parvispora, and Penicillium chrysogenum displayed antiparasitic activities, whilst extracts of P. destructans, Mortierella amoeboidea, Mortierella sp. 3, and P. tardochrysogenum showed herbicidal activities. Reported as pathogenic for bats, different isolates of P. destructans exhibited trypanocidal activities and herbicidal activity, and may be a source of bioactive molecules to be considered for chemotherapy against neglected tropical diseases. The abundant presence of P. destructans in soils of the four islands gives evidence supporting that soils in the Antarctic Peninsula constitute a natural source of strains of this genus, including some P. destructans strains that are phylogenetically close to those that infect bats in North America and Europe/Palearctic Asia.

Comparison of Microbial Communities in the Sediments and Water Columns of Frozen Cryoconite Holes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

“…Similarly, the closest matches for the fungus Penicillium sp. were from aquatic areas with human contamination, such as municipal water and water tower systems, and in canals (e.g., KT265809, KX610136, and KX090324), but Penicillium species have been isolated from the soils of Antarctic islands, where they were relatively abundant (Gomes et al, 2018). Another eukaryote that was nearly absent in the sediments, but dominant in the water, was a golden algae (class Chrysophyceae).…”

Small-Scale Soil Microbial Community Heterogeneity Linked to Landform Historical Events on King George Island, Maritime Antarctica

“…Although most species of Aspergillus are thermophilic, their spores are known to be able to survive under extreme conditions for decades (Robinson, 2001). Pseudogymnoascus has a wide distribution and occurs in the soils of Arctic, alpine, temperate, and Antarctic regions; species in this genus have the ability to colonize and utilize different carbon sources and can increase in abundance at lower temperatures (Gomes et al, 2018). Furthermore, a small number of OTUs were classified into Rozellomycota, Glomeromycota, and Chytridiomycota (<3%, each phylum), and in total, 222 fungal families had been found.…”

“…Random forest analysis revealed that the OTUs belonging to Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were mostly overrepresented in Group 1. These phyla have shown positive correlations with vegetation and the rhizosphere in farmland, Arctic glacier moraines, and the Brazilian Antarctic Station (Gomes et al, 2018). Alphaproteobacteria are among the most abundant marine cellular organisms (Williams et al, 2007).…”

Extracellular Enzymes and Bioactive Compounds from Antarctic Terrestrial Fungi for Bioprospecting

“…Bioactive metabolites against neglected tropical diseases and pests were reported also from the Antarctic Peninsula: Pseudogymnoascus destructans, Mortierella parvispora, and Penicillium chrysogenum displayed antiparasitic activities, whilst extracts of P. destructans, M. amoeboidea, Mortierella sp. 3, and P. tardochrysogenum showed herbicidal activities [78]. The production of promising biotechnological molecules by Mortierella species was not a novelty, as already reported for an endophytic M. alpina strain isolated from Schistidium antarctici, a moss species widely distributed at King George Island [79].…”

“…Mortierella amoeboidea [78] Mortierella sp. [78] Penicillium tardochrysogenum [78] Pseudogymnoascus destructans [78] Agrostis stolonifera (bentgrass)…”