Marine fungi of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study extends our knowledge of the diversity of marine fungi from Saudi Arabia, which is virtually unknown. Thirty-seven fungi (28 ascomycetes, eight asexual fungi, and one basidiomycete) were recorded from 457 samples of driftwood and intertidal decayed wood of Avicennia marina collected from three sites along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. The three sites include two mangrove sites, namely: Yanbu and Farasan Island, while the third site is a sandy shore nearby Yanbu city. Thirty-one fungi were new records for Saudi Arabia. Swampomyces triseptatus is the only species common to the three sites. The recorded marine fungi were latitudinally distributed with fungi recorded from Yanbu (subtropical site) largely different from those at Farasan Island mangrove (tropical site) with only six common fungi recorded. Amarenographium solium was the most common fungus at Yanbu mangrove, while Lineolata rhizophorae dominated the fungal community at Farasan Island mangrove. Swampomyces armeniacus was commonly recorded at the two mangrove sites. Torpedospora radiata was the most common species recorded from driftwood samples collected at Yanbu beach. A new collection of Diatrypasimilis australiensis enabled us to make a detailed morphological study of the fungus. Mycelia with chlamydospores were isolated from the samples and subsequently sequenced, and they grouped in the Corollospora clade with various degrees of confidence, but did not sporulate on natural material or in culture.

Contrasted ecological niches shape fungal and prokaryotic community structure in mangroves sediments

“…In the present work Ascomycota were dominated by the class Dothideomycetes, frequently found as saprobes of decaying woody materials in marine environments and among which some orders are bloom-forming microorganisms presenting morphological adaptations to the marine environment that support the discharge of ascospores, such as mucilaginous sheaths (Suetrong et al, 2009;Taylor and Cunliffe, 2016). These differences could be related to contrasted environmental conditions such as a lower salinity for the Red Sea sediments, expected between 40 and 46 ppt (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014), compared to those of New Caledonia A. marina mangroves (62.75 on average). However, previous work conducted on mangrove sediments from A. marina areas of the Red Sea reported Dothideomycetes as a less abundant class compared to our work.…”

“…However, previous work conducted on mangrove sediments from A. marina areas of the Red Sea reported Dothideomycetes as a less abundant class compared to our work. These differences could be related to contrasted environmental conditions such as a lower salinity for the Red Sea sediments, expected between 40 and 46 ppt (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014), compared to those of New Caledonia A. marina mangroves (62.75 on average). It could also be the result of the absence of surrounding vegetation in Red Sea mangroves and the presence of a dry hot desert (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014).…”

“…These differences could be related to contrasted environmental conditions such as a lower salinity for the Red Sea sediments, expected between 40 and 46 ppt (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014), compared to those of New Caledonia A. marina mangroves (62.75 on average). It could also be the result of the absence of surrounding vegetation in Red Sea mangroves and the presence of a dry hot desert (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014). Many yeasts belonging either to Ascomycota (Exobasidiomycetes, Saccharomycetes) or Basidiomycota (Tremellomycetes, Dothideomycetes) classes were retrieved in the present work such as Cryptococcus and Malassezia genera.…”

“…Indeed, previous work reported that most Fungi isolated from the estuarine ecosystem of the Delaware River were halotolerant (Burgaud et al, 2013). It could also be the result of the absence of surrounding vegetation in Red Sea mangroves and the presence of a dry hot desert (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014). These differences could be related to contrasted environmental conditions such as a lower salinity for the Red Sea sediments, expected between 40 and 46 ppt (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014), compared to those of New Caledonia A. marina mangroves (62.75 on average).…”

Molecular identification of fungi isolated from coastal regions of Red Sea, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…Such species have been reported previously as both terrestrial and facultative marine fungi in the literature (Antunes et al, 2011;Pecoraro et al, 2015). Many studies in the field have aimed to isolate fungi from floating debris and mangrove thus yielding species such as Swampomyces triseptatus which readily grow on plants and driftwood but may be harder to come by when isolating samples of seawater and sand (Abdel-Wahab et al, 2014). The ability of the fungal isolates found, particularly Aspergillus, to survive within hypersaline environments indicates its high resilience and ability to adapt (Kis-Papo et al, 2003).…”