Yeasts in the intertidal sediments of a polluted estuary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Yeasts were found concentrated at the sediment surface and with the highest counts at the most polluted site. Candida krusei, Pichia membranaefaciens and similar species typically forming rugose colonies with radiating ridges were the prevalent yeasts in these sediments, and species like Rhodotorula rubra related to basidiomycetous fungi were found in relatively low numbers.

Ascomycetous yeasts from tropical intertidal dark mud of southeast Brazilian estuaries.

“…Site 3 was also on Ilha do Fundao, in the channel bordering the mainland and characterized by dark sandy-mud sediment. It had no mangrove vegetation and received raw sewage from a large part of the city of Rio de Janeiro (Hagler et al, 1982).…”

“…Each sediment sample was mixed with a sterile spatula and subsamples of 50 to 100 g (wet weight) were diluted in 1 to 2 volumes of sterile 0.85% NaCI. After 30 s vortex shaking, heavy particles were allowed to settle and aliquots of the supernatant were used for microbial counts and yeast isolation (Hagler et al, 1982). Seawater was also collected at each site and used directly for microbial counts.…”

“…There have been few studies of the yeast communities of coastal marine ecosystems, and most of these were done in North America (Fell et al, 1960;Fell and van Uden, 1963;Hagler et al, 1982;Lazarus and Korburger, 1974;Meyers and Ahearn, 1974;Meyers et al, 1971;Suehiro, 1963;Volz et al, 1974). Yeasts of coastal sediment habitats may be involved in decomposition, nutrient cycling and in the biotransformation of petroleum, xenobionts and other complex compounds (Ahearn and Meyers, 1972;MacGillivray and Shiaris, 1993;Meyers and Ahearn, 1974).…”

“…Fermentative yeast species, especially of the Candida krusei-like group (e.g., C. krusei, Candida sorbosa, Pichia kluyveri, Pichia membranaefaciens, its anamorph Candida valida, Pichia terricola, and phenotypically similar yeasts) are prevalent in a heavily polluted subtropical estuary (Hagler et al, 1982). The prevalent basidiomycetous yeasts in fresh and marine waters, Rhodotoru/a spp.…”

Yeasts isolated from sand and sea water in beaches of Olinda, Pernambuco state, Brazil

“…In Brazil, studies about yeasts isolated from sea water began in Florianópolis (11) and later in Recife (27) and Rio de Janeiro (14,15,16). Studies in São Paulo have shown that species of Candida can be used as indicators of pollution in marine estuaries (24).…”