Fungi in Hypoxic Soils and Aquatic Sediments

Abstract

AbstractUnder certain environmental conditions, O2 availability in soils and aquatic sediments can become a limiting factor for the survival of aerobic organisms, including the majority of fungi. Here, hypoxia is presented in light of various aspects of fungal ecology. Fungi are diverse in many extreme environments, but many of these ecosystems have been poorly exploited to study general principles of fungal biology and ecology, and these include hypoxic environments such as submerged ecosystems and mofettes (natural CO2 springs). Furthermore, with global change accelerating the frequency of extreme events, hypoxic environments are also becoming more common, with either permanent or temporary soil or sediment hypoxia caused by flooding or higher temperatures. Here, in addition to a range of aquatic hypoxic environments, we present some new insights and experiences on the response of fungi to hypoxia, derived from research on a specific extreme mofette ecosystem. Findings on the response of different groups of fungi in soil and sediments (e.g. yeasts, mycorrhizal fungi) and in particular on their patterns of community formation are presented. Finally, we report on the frontiers of fungal research in hypoxic environments, which include some little-studied topics such as the bioprospecting of new extremophile taxa, the study of fungal pathogens in humans, and extreme environments as natural models for long-term experiments in ecology and evolution.KeywordsAquatic sedimentArbuscular mycorrhizaArbuscular mycorrhizal fungiDark septate endophyteElevated CO2ExtremophilesFungal pathogensFilamentous fungiHypoxiaMofette Occultifur mephitis Soil fungiSoil biodiversityYeasts