The genus Eurotium– members of indigenous fungal community in hypersaline waters of salterns

Abstract

Six different species of the known teleomorphic food-borne xerophilic genus Eurotium were repeatedly isolated in a mycodiversity study of hypersaline waters. At salinities above 17% NaCl, E. amstelodami was detected most consistently, followed by E. repens and E. herbariorum, while E. rubrum, E. chevalieri and a potentially new species, "Eurotium halotolerans", were detected only occasionally at lower salinities. The qualitative secondary metabolite profiles produced by Eurotium spp. from salterns were not different from those of Eurotium spp. from foods and other habitats. Spatiotemporal frequency of occurrence and in vitro determined adaptive ability of propagules to survive prolonged exposure to hypersaline conditions indicate that E. amstelodami, E. herbariorum, and E. repens contribute to the indigenous fungal community in hypersaline water environments, while E. rubrum, E. chevalieri and "E. halotolerans" are only temporal inhabitants of brine at lower salinities.

Species Richness and Adaptation of Marine Fungi from Deep-Subseafloor Sediments

“…This species was described to be the dominant phylotype among the Ascomycota in a DNA-based clone library prepared from deep-sea methane cold-seep sediments (9). The other wellrepresented Eurotiomycetes were (i) Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus terreus, known to be able to germinate under hydrostatic pressure (5), and (ii) Eurotium herbariorum, previously isolated from other extreme environments, including hypersaline waters of solar salterns (43), the hypersaline Dead Sea (44), hydrothermal sediments (2), and deep-sea sediments (11).…”

Morphological Response of the Halophilic Fungal Genus Wallemia to High Salinity

“…Halophilic and halotolerant fungi show a surprisingly rich diversity and abundance in natural saline environments, such as salt crystals, food preserved with high concentrations of salt, and solar salterns (8)(9)(10)20), where biologically available water is limited. The ability to grow at a low a w is apparent in 10 phylogenetically unrelated orders of fungi and is in most cases limited to a few species or to a single genus within an order.…”

Genomic adaptations of the halophilic Dead Sea filamentous fungus Eurotium rubrum

“…Essentially, most organisms in the Dead Sea survive in their dormant stages and only revive when salinity is temporarily reduced during rare heavy flooding events 7 or possibly by underwater fresh water springs 8 . In contrast, mycelial and spore stages of the ascomycete Eurotium rubrum W. Bremer are capable of surviving incubation in concentrated brines 9 .…”