Abstract
Glacial retreat is one of the most conspicuous signs of warming in Antarctic regions. Glacier soils harbor an active microbial community of decomposers, and under the continuous retraction of glaciers, the soil starts to present a gradient of physical, chemical, and biological factors reflecting regional changes over time. Little is known about the biological nature of fungi in Antarctic glacier soils. In this sense, this work aimed at studying the behavior of fungal community structure from samples of glacier soil collected after glacial retreat (Collins Glacier). A total of 309 fungi distributed in 19 genera were obtained from eleven soil samples. Representatives of the genera Pseudogymnoascus (Ascomycota) and Mortierella (Mortierellomycota) were the most abundant isolates in all samples. The data revealed the presence of filamentous fungi belonging to the phylum Basidiomycota, rarely found in Antarctica. Analysis of the generalized linear models revealed that the distance from the glacier as well as phosphorus and clay were able to modify the distribution of fungal species. Environmental variations proved to have influenced the genera Pseudogymnoascus and Pseudeutorium.
Highlights
Microbial diversity of the terrestrial Antarctic environment exists mainly in ice-free areas, which have been altered by climate change, representing less than 1% of the continent
A total of 309 filamentous fungal isolates were recovered from eleven soil samples collected at the Collins Glacier
Individuals belonging to the genera Pseudogymnoacus, Pseudeurotium, Mortierella, and the order Helotiales were able to grow in all culture media and at both incubation temperatures
Summary
Microbial diversity of the terrestrial Antarctic environment exists mainly in ice-free areas, which have been altered by climate change, representing less than 1% of the continent. Studies carried out in 2007 involving the radiocarbon dating of moss adjacent to the glacier indicated that the ice cap has been located at or behind its position for much of the last 3500 years [8]. The recent literature provides information related to the slow response of the Collins Glacier to climate change, data collected by Simões et al [7] indicated that the retreat is a consequence of regional warming. Increase in ice-free area drastically modifies biodiversity due to changes in the environment and the sharing of species with other areas [9,10,11]
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