Abstract
Screening of 1,000-years old ice layers from the perennial ice block of Scărișoara Ice Cave (NW Romania) revealed the presence of fungal communities. Using culture-dependent methods and molecular techniques based on DGGE fingerprinting of 18S rRNA gene fragments and sequencing, we identified 50 cultured and 14 uncultured fungi in presently-forming, 400 and 900 years old ice layers, corresponding to 28 distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The dominant ice-contained fungal OTUs were related to Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Cryptomycota phyla. Representatives of Mucoromycota and Chytridiomycota were also isolated from recent and 400 years old ice samples. The cryophilic Mrakia stokesii was the most abundant fungal species found in the cave ice samples of all prospected ages, alongside other cryophilic fungi also identified in various glacial environments. Ice deposits formed during the Little Ice Age (dated between AD 1,250 and 1,850) appeared to have a higher fungal diversity than the ice layer formed during the Medieval Warm Period (prior to AD 1,250). A more complex fungal community adapted to low temperatures was obtained from all analyzed ice layers when cultivated at 4 °C as compared to 15 °C, suggesting the dominance of cold-adapted fungi in this glacial habitat. The fungal distribution in the analyzed cave ice layers revealed the presence of unique OTUs in different aged-formed ice deposits, as a first hint for putative further identification of fungal biomarkers for climate variations in this icy habitat. This is the first report on fungi from a rock-hosted cave ice block.
Highlights
Over the last decades, investigation of icy environments became a major scientific direction to unravel the presence, adaptation mechanisms and role of ice-contained microorganisms[1,2,3]
Building on the unique records of past climatic and environmental changes derived from the ice in Scărişoara Ice Cave (Romania), identification of fungal diversity throughout the cave ice block could lead to a novel microbial climatic proxy
Cave ice fungal community based on Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis
Summary
Traian Brad[1,2], Corina Itcus[1,3], Madalina-Denisa Pascu[1], Aurel Perșoiu 1,2,4, Alexandra Hillebrand-Voiculescu[1,5], Lavinia Iancu1 & Cristina Purcarea[1]. The fungal distribution in the analyzed cave ice layers revealed the presence of unique OTUs in different aged-formed ice deposits, as a first hint for putative further identification of fungal biomarkers for climate variations in this icy habitat This is the first report on fungi from a rock-hosted cave ice block. Building on the unique records of past climatic and environmental changes derived from the ice in Scărişoara Ice Cave (Romania), identification of fungal diversity throughout the cave ice block could lead to a novel microbial climatic proxy In this context, the current data, representing the first report on fungal diversity in an alpine ice cave, led to the identification of cultured and uncultured fungi in perennial ice layers up to 900 years old from Scărişoara Ice Cave, based on DGGE analysis and sequencing of 18S rRNA gene amplicons
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