An comparative analysis of airborne and terrestrial fungi in show caves Novoafonskaya (Caucasus) and Ali-Sadr (Iran)

Abstract

Caves are considered as ecosystems isolated from the surface in varying degrees. Hypogean habitats are mostly A study of cultivated species of microfungi in two show caves Novoafonskaya (Caucasus) and Ali-Sadr (Iran) was carried out. The species composition of fungi has been analyzed in the air and cave sediments along the excursion route. Species identification was performed using standard approaches and cultivation methods. Jaccard index was applied to estimate similarity of communities of different biotopes. The species diversity of microfungi was higher in the Novoafonskaya cave where 50 species of microfungi were identified. Only 38 species were isolated from the Ali-Sadr cave. Representatives of Ascomycota predominated in fungal communities. The greatest species diversity was noted in the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Trichoderma. Species Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Cladosporium herbarum, Pseudogymnoascus pannorum, Oidiodendron tenuissimum and Penicillium chrysogenum were identified in all biotopes of both caves. Comparison of two biotopes of the caves using the Jaccard index revealed a high similarity in the species composition in the soil and air of the Novoafonskaya cave (KJ = 0.64). On the contrary, the species composition of fungi was different in Ali-Sadr cave (KJ = 0.22), which may be explained by intensive propagules input from the surface due to the cave morphology features and the arrangement of excursion route.