Fungi in a changing world: growth rates will be elevated, but spore production may decrease in future climates

Abstract

Very little is known about the impact of climate change on fungi and especially on spore production. Fungal spores can be allergenic, thus being important for human health. The aim of this study was to investigate how climate change influences the responsive ability of fungi by simulating differing environmental regimes. Fungal species with high spore allergenic potential and atmospheric abundance were grown and experimentally examined under a variety of temperatures and different nutrient availability. Each represented the average decadal air temperature of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s in the UK, along with an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change scenario for 2100. All tests were run on six fungal species: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Cladosporium oxysporum and Epicoccum purpurascens. Mycelium growth rate and spore production were examined on each single species and competitive capacity among species combinations in pairs. All fungal species grew faster at higher temperatures, and this was more pronounced for the temperature projection in 2100. Most species grew faster when there was lower nutrient availability. Exceptions were the species with the highest growth rate (E. purpurascens) and with the highest competition capacity (A. alternata). Most species (except for E. purpurascens) produced more spores in the richer nutrient medium but fewer as temperature increased. C. cladosporioides was an exception, exponentially increasing its spore production in the temperature of the 2100 scenario. Regarding competitive capacity, no species displayed any significant alterations within the environmental range checked. It is suggested that in future climates, fungi will display dramatic growth responses, with faster mycelium growth and lower spore production, with questions risen on relevant allergen potential.

Estimating the abundance of airborne pollen and fungal spores at variable elevations using an aircraft: how high can they fly?

“…Also, the above may be due to the ability of these genera to either be highly competent against other fungal species or be capable to produce vast numbers of spores. Alternaria ’s high competitive capacity and Cladosporium ’s high sporulation rate have already been documented48. Noticeably, Cladosporium spores have been even detected in Antarctica42.…”

Aerobiology in the International Journal of Biometeorology, 1957–2017

“…It is important to remember, however, that this is only a small part of an extremely diverse field that is aerobiology. Some work has been conducted on fungal spores, and papers concerning relationships with meteorological data (Stephen et al 1990;GrinnGofroń and Strzelczak 2008, 2009 and long-term trends (Damialis et al 2015) have been published in IJB for some widespread and more easily identifiable fungal spore types. As for aerobiological articles, generally, most of this research has been from Europe (particularly Spain, Poland and the UK) and North America (again with most of this from the USA) (Fig.…”

The mutual influences of man-made pollutants and allergic manifestations

“…Consequently, the exact relationship between pollutants, fungi and human health is still poorly described. Recent bio-monitoring and experimental data suggest that fungi seem to respond to environmental stress, like increased air pollution and climate change, in a strong but slow manner (compared to plants) (Damialis, Mohammad et al, 2015;Damialis, Vokou et al, 2015). Many of the allergenic fungal species are saprotrophs, endophytes, or plant parasites (Carlile et al, 2007) (Carlile, Watkinson et al, 2001).…”

“…This means that they are closely related with (symbiotic relationship) or dependent on (parasitic relationship) their host organisms, plants. There are indications that this plant-fungal symbiosis leads to simultaneous long-term alterations and life strategy changes (Damialis, Mohammad et al, 2015): fungi may be elongating their growth phase and delaying their sporulation stage, whereas plants may be increasing the amount of pollen produced. In either case, more frequent or more severe respiratory allergy symptoms can be induced.…”

“…Hence, Heinzerling et al have shown that many allergens previously regarded as untypical for some regions in Europe have been underestimated, among which several fungal taxa (Heinzerling, Burbach et al, 2009). Particularly Cladosporium species, frequently observed within the most abundant spore concentrations in the atmosphere worldwide, seems to pose a forthcoming threat in allergic patients (Damialis, Mohammad et al, 2015).…”