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Prostak SM, Medina EM, Kalinka E, Fritz-Laylin LK. A guide to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the chytrid fungus Spizellomyces punctatus. Access Microbiol 2023; 5:acmi000566.v3. [PMID: 37323946 PMCID: PMC10267658 DOI: 10.1099/acmi.0.000566.v3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Chytrid fungi play key ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems, and some species cause a devastating skin disease in frogs and salamanders. Additionally, chytrids occupy a unique phylogenetic position- sister to the well-studied Dikarya (the group including yeasts, sac fungi, and mushrooms) and related to animals- making chytrids useful for answering important evolutionary questions. Despite their importance, little is known about the basic cell biology of chytrids. A major barrier to understanding chytrid biology has been a lack of genetic tools with which to test molecular hypotheses. Medina and colleagues recently developed a protocol for Agrobacterium -mediated transformation of Spizellomyces punctatus. In this manuscript, we describe the general procedure including planning steps and expected results. We also provide in-depth, step-by-step protocols and video guides for performing the entirety of this transformation procedure on protocols.io (dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.x54v9dd1pg3e/v1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Prostak
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Edgar M. Medina
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Erik Kalinka
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
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Van Den Wyngaert S, Kainz MJ, Ptacnik R. Mucilage protects the planktonic desmid Staurodesmus sp. against parasite attack by a chytrid fungus. J Plankton Res 2023; 45:3-14. [PMID: 36751484 PMCID: PMC9896892 DOI: 10.1093/plankt/fbac071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Zoosporic fungi of the phylum Chytridiomycota are ubiquitous parasites of phytoplankton in aquatic ecosystems, but little is known about phytoplankton defense strategies against parasitic chytrid attacks. Using a model chytrid-phytoplankton pathosystem, we experimentally tested the hypothesis that the mucilage envelope of a mucilage-forming desmid species provides protection against the parasitic chytrid Staurastromyces oculus. Mucilage-forming Staurodesmus cells were not accessible to the chytrid, whereas physical removal of the mucilage envelope rendered the same Staurodesmus sp. strain equally susceptible to chytrid infections as the original non-mucilage-forming host Staurastrum sp. Epidemic spread of the parasite only occurred in Staurastrum sp., whereas non-mucilage-bearing Staurodesmus sp. allowed for co-existence of host and parasite, and mucilage-bearing Staurodesmus sp. caused parasite extinction. In addition to the mucilage defense barrier, we also demonstrate the ability of both Staurastrum sp. and Staurodesmus sp. to resist infection by preventing chytrid development while still remaining viable and being able to reproduce and thus recover from an infection. This study extends our knowledge on phytoplankton defense traits and the functional role of mucilage in phytoplankton as a physical barrier against fungal parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martin J Kainz
- Wassercluster – Biologische Station Lunz, Dr Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5, 3293 Lunz Am See, Austria
- Department of Biomedical Research, Danube University, Dr Karl Dorrek Strasse 20, 3500 Krems, Austria
| | - Robert Ptacnik
- Wassercluster – Biologische Station Lunz, Dr Carl Kupelwieser Promenade 5, 3293 Lunz Am See, Austria
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Abstract
The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a causative agent of chytridiomycosis, a skin disease associated with amphibian population declines around the world. Despite the major impact Bd is having on global ecosystems, much of Bd's basic biology remains unstudied. In addition to revealing mechanisms driving the spread of chytridiomycosis, studying Bd can shed light on the evolution of key fungal traits because chytrid fungi, including Bd, diverged before the radiation of the Dikaryotic fungi (multicellular fungi and yeast). Studying Bd in the laboratory is, therefore, of growing interest to a wide range of scientists, ranging from herpetologists and disease ecologists to molecular, cell, and evolutionary biologists. This protocol describes how to maintain developmentally synchronized liquid cultures of Bd for use in the laboratory, how to grow Bd on solid media, as well as cryopreservation and revival of frozen stocks. © 2021 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Reviving cryopreserved Bd cultures Basic Protocol 2: Establishing synchronized liquid cultures of Bd Basic Protocol 3: Regular maintenance of synchronous Bd in liquid culture Alternate Protocol 1: Regular maintenance of asynchronous Bd in liquid culture Basic Protocol 4: Regular maintenance of synchronous Bd on solid medium Alternate Protocol 2: Starting a culture on solid medium from a liquid culture Basic Protocol 5: Cryopreservation of Bd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Prostak
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
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Laundon D, Chrismas N, Wheeler G, Cunliffe M. Chytrid rhizoid morphogenesis resembles hyphal development in multicellular fungi and is adaptive to resource availability. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200433. [PMID: 32517626 PMCID: PMC7341943 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Key to the ecological prominence of fungi is their distinctive cell biology, our understanding of which has been principally based on dikaryan hyphal and yeast forms. The early-diverging Chytridiomycota (chytrids) are ecologically important and a significant component of fungal diversity, yet their cell biology remains poorly understood. Unlike dikaryan hyphae, chytrids typically attach to substrates and feed osmotrophically via anucleate rhizoids. The evolution of fungal hyphae appears to have occurred from rhizoid-bearing lineages and it has been hypothesized that a rhizoid-like structure was the precursor to multicellular hyphae. Here, we show in a unicellular chytrid, Rhizoclosmatium globosum, that rhizoid development exhibits striking similarities with dikaryan hyphae and is adaptive to resource availability. Rhizoid morphogenesis exhibits analogous patterns to hyphal growth and is controlled by β-glucan-dependent cell wall synthesis and actin polymerization. Chytrid rhizoids growing from individual cells also demonstrate adaptive morphological plasticity in response to resource availability, developing a searching phenotype when carbon starved and spatial differentiation when interacting with particulate organic matter. We demonstrate that the adaptive cell biology and associated developmental plasticity considered characteristic of hyphal fungi are shared more widely across the Kingdom Fungi and therefore could be conserved from their most recent common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davis Laundon
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK.,School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Nathan Chrismas
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK.,School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Glen Wheeler
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK
| | - Michael Cunliffe
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK.,School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
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Scholz B, Küpper FC, Vyverman W, Ólafsson HG, Karsten U. Chytridiomycosis of Marine Diatoms-The Role of Stress Physiology and Resistance in Parasite-Host Recognition and Accumulation of Defense Molecules. Mar Drugs 2017; 15:E26. [PMID: 28125065 PMCID: PMC5334607 DOI: 10.3390/md15020026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Revised: 01/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Little is known about the role of chemotaxis in the location and attachment of chytrid zoospores to potential diatom hosts. Hypothesizing that environmental stress parameters affect parasite-host recognition, four chytrid-diatom tandem cultures (Chytridium sp./Navicula sp., Rhizophydium type I/Nitzschia sp., Rhizophydium type IIa/Rhizosolenia sp., Rhizophydium type IIb/Chaetoceros sp.) were used to test the chemotaxis of chytrid zoospores and the presence of potential defense molecules in a non-contact-co-culturing approach. As potential triggers in the chemotaxis experiments, standards of eight carbohydrates, six amino acids, five fatty acids, and three compounds known as compatible solutes were used in individual and mixed solutions, respectively. In all tested cases, the whole-cell extracts of the light-stressed (continuous light exposure combined with 6 h UV radiation) hosts attracted the highest numbers of zoospores (86%), followed by the combined carbohydrate standard solution (76%), while all other compounds acted as weak triggers only. The results of the phytochemical screening, using biomass and supernatant extracts of susceptible and resistant host-diatom cultures, indicated in most of the tested extracts the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids, phenols, and aldehydes, whereas the bioactivity screenings showed that the zoospores of the chytrid parasites were only significantly affected by the ethanolic supernatant extract of the resistant hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina Scholz
- BioPol ehf., Einbúastig 2, 545 Skagaströnd, Iceland.
- Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences, University of Akureyri, Borgir v. Nordurslod, IS 600 Akureyri, Iceland.
| | - Frithjof C Küpper
- Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Main Street, Newburgh AB41 6AA, Scotland, UK.
| | - Wim Vyverman
- Department of Biology, Section of Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, University of Ghent, Krijgslaan 281 S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | | | - Ulf Karsten
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Applied Ecology & Phycology, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 3, 18059 Rostock, Germany.
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Richards TA, Leonard G, Mahé F, Del Campo J, Romac S, Jones MDM, Maguire F, Dunthorn M, De Vargas C, Massana R, Chambouvet A. Molecular diversity and distribution of marine fungi across 130 European environmental samples. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:rspb.2015.2243. [PMID: 26582030 PMCID: PMC4685826 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental DNA and culture-based analyses have suggested that fungi are present in low diversity and in low abundance in many marine environments, especially in the upper water column. Here, we use a dual approach involving high-throughput diversity tag sequencing from both DNA and RNA templates and fluorescent cell counts to evaluate the diversity and relative abundance of fungi across marine samples taken from six European near-shore sites. We removed very rare fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) selecting only OTUs recovered from multiple samples for a detailed analysis. This approach identified a set of 71 fungal 'OTU clusters' that account for 66% of all the sequences assigned to the Fungi. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that this diversity includes a significant number of chytrid-like lineages that had not been previously described, indicating that the marine environment encompasses a number of zoosporic fungi that are new to taxonomic inventories. Using the sequence datasets, we identified cases where fungal OTUs were sampled across multiple geographical sites and between different sampling depths. This was especially clear in one relatively abundant and diverse phylogroup tentatively named Novel Chytrid-Like-Clade 1 (NCLC1). For comparison, a subset of the water column samples was also investigated using fluorescent microscopy to examine the abundance of eukaryotes with chitin cell walls. Comparisons of relative abundance of RNA-derived fungal tag sequences and chitin cell-wall counts demonstrate that fungi constitute a low fraction of the eukaryotic community in these water column samples. Taken together, these results demonstrate the phylogenetic position and environmental distribution of 71 lineages, improving our understanding of the diversity and abundance of fungi in marine environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Richards
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, CIFAR Program in Integrated Microbial Biodiversity, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1Z8
| | - Guy Leonard
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Frédéric Mahé
- CNRS, UMR 7144, EPEP-Évolution des Protistes et des Écosystèmes Pélagiques, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff 29680, France Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Javier Del Campo
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4 Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Sarah Romac
- CNRS, UMR 7144, EPEP-Évolution des Protistes et des Écosystèmes Pélagiques, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff 29680, France
| | - Meredith D M Jones
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Finlay Maguire
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Micah Dunthorn
- Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Colomban De Vargas
- CNRS, UMR 7144, EPEP-Évolution des Protistes et des Écosystèmes Pélagiques, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff 29680, France
| | - Ramon Massana
- Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Aurélie Chambouvet
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
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Dee JM, Mollicone M, Longcore JE, Roberson RW, Berbee ML. Cytology and molecular phylogenetics of Monoblepharidomycetes provide evidence for multiple independent origins of the hyphal habit in the Fungi. Mycologia 2015; 107:710-28. [PMID: 25911696 DOI: 10.3852/14-275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Accepted: 04/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of filamentous hyphae underlies an astounding diversity of fungal form and function. We studied the cellular structure and evolutionary origins of the filamentous form in the Monoblepharidomycetes (Chytridiomycota), an early-diverging fungal lineage that displays an exceptional range of body types, from crescent-shaped single cells to sprawling hyphae. To do so, we combined light and transmission electron microscopic analyses of hyphal cytoplasm with molecular phylogenetic reconstructions. Hyphae of Monoblepharidomycetes lack a complex aggregation of secretory vesicles at the hyphal apex (i.e. Spitzenkörper), have centrosomes as primary microtubule organizing centers and have stacked Golgi cisternae instead of tubular/fenestrated Golgi equivalents. The cytoplasmic distribution of actin in Monoblepharidomycetes is comparable to the arrangement observed previously in other filamentous fungi. To discern the origins of Monoblepharidomycetes hyphae, we inferred a phylogeny of the fungi based on 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA sequence data with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. We focused sampling on Monoblepharidomycetes to infer intergeneric relationships within the class and determined 78 new sequences. Analyses showed class Monoblepharidomycetes to be monophyletic and nested within Chytridiomycota. Hyphal Monoblepharidomycetes formed a clade sister to the genera without hyphae, Harpochytrium and Oedogoniomyces. A likelihood ancestral state reconstruction indicated that hyphae arose independently within the Monoblepharidomycetes lineage and in at least two other lineages. Cytological differences among monoblepharidalean and other fungal hyphae are consistent with these convergent origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn M Dee
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T-1Z4 Canada
| | - Marilyn Mollicone
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469
| | - Joyce E Longcore
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469
| | - Robert W Roberson
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287
| | - Mary L Berbee
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T-1Z4 Canada
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Scholz B, Küpper FC, Vyverman W, Karsten U. Eukaryotic pathogens (Chytridiomycota and Oomycota) infecting marine microphytobenthic diatoms - a methodological comparison. J Phycol 2014; 50:1009-1019. [PMID: 26988783 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/31/2014] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Using sediment samples from the Solthörn tidal flat (southern North Sea, Germany), collected in bi-weekly intervals from June to July 2012, a range of qualitative and quantitative screening methods for oomycete and chytrid pathogens infecting benthic diatoms were evaluated. Pre-treatment of sediment samples using short ultrasound pulses and gradient centrifugation, in combination with CalcoFluor White, showed the best results in the visualization of both pathogen groups. The highest number of infected benthic diatoms was observed in mid July (5.8% of the total benthic diatom community). Most infections were caused by chytrids and, in a few cases, oomycetes (Lagenisma Drebes (host: Coscinodiscus radiatus Ehrenberg) and Ectrogella Zopf (hosts: Dimeregramma minor in Pritchard and Gyrosigma peisonis). Among the chytrids, sporangium morphology indicated the presence of five different morphotypes, infecting mainly epipelic taxa of the orders Naviculales (e.g., Navicula digitoradiata) and Achnanthales (e.g., Achnanthes brevipes Agardh). The presence of multiple pathogens in several epipelic diatom taxa suggests a significant role for fungal parasitism in affecting microphytobenthic diatom succession.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina Scholz
- Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, Wilhelmshaven, 26382, Germany
| | - Frithjof C Küpper
- Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Main Street, Newburgh, AB41 6AA, UK
| | - Wim Vyverman
- Department of Biology, Section of Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, University of Ghent, Krijgslaan 281 S8, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Ulf Karsten
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Applied Ecology & Phycology, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 3, Rostock, 18059, Germany
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Sime-Ngando T. Phytoplankton chytridiomycosis: fungal parasites of phytoplankton and their imprints on the food web dynamics. Front Microbiol 2012; 3:361. [PMID: 23091469 PMCID: PMC3469839 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2012] [Accepted: 09/24/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitism is one of the earlier and common ecological interactions in the nature, occurring in almost all environments. Microbial parasites typically are characterized by their small size, short generation time, and high rates of reproduction, with simple life cycle occurring generally within a single host. They are diverse and ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, comprising viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes. Recently, environmental 18S rDNA surveys of microbial eukaryotes have unveiled major infecting agents in pelagic systems, consisting primarily of the fungal order of Chytridiales (chytrids). Chytrids are considered the earlier branch of the Eumycetes and produce motile, flagellated zoospores, characterized by a small size (2–6 μm), and a single, posterior flagellum. The existence of these dispersal propagules includes chytrids within the so-called group of zoosporic fungi, which are particularly adapted to the plankton lifestyle where they infect a wide variety of hosts, including fishes, eggs, zooplankton, algae, and other aquatic fungi but primarily freshwater phytoplankton. Related ecological implications are huge because chytrids can killed their hosts, release substrates for microbial processes, and provide nutrient-rich particles as zoospores and short fragments of filamentous inedible hosts for the grazer food chain. Furthermore, based on the observation that phytoplankton chytridiomycosis preferentially impacts the larger size species, blooms of such species (e.g., filamentous cyanobacteria) may not totally represent trophic bottlenecks. Besides, chytrid epidemics represent an important driving factor in phytoplankton seasonal successions. In this review, I summarize the knowledge on the diversity, community structure, quantitative importance, and functional roles of fungal chytrids, primarily those who are parasites of phytoplankton, and infer the ecological implications and potentials for the food web dynamics and properties. I reach the conclusion that phytoplankton chytridiomycosis represents an important but as yet overlooked ecological driving force in aquatic food web dynamics and network organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Télesphore Sime-Ngando
- UMR CNRS 6023, Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, Clermont Université Blaise Pascal Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Gleason FH, Crawford JW, Neuhauser S, Henderson LE, Lilje O. Resource seeking strategies of zoosporic true fungi in heterogeneous soil habitats at the microscale level. Soil Biol Biochem 2012; 45:79-88. [PMID: 22308003 PMCID: PMC3261367 DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2011] [Revised: 10/20/2011] [Accepted: 10/26/2011] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Zoosporic true fungi have frequently been identified in samples from soil and freshwater ecosystems using baiting and molecular techniques. In fact some species can be components of the dominant groups of microorganisms in particular soil habitats. Yet these microorganisms have not yet been directly observed growing in soil ecosystems. Significant physical characteristics and features of the three-dimensional structures of soils which impact microorganisms at the microscale level are discussed. A thorough knowledge of soil structures is important for studying the distribution of assemblages of these fungi and understanding their ecological roles along spatial and temporal gradients. A number of specific adaptations and resource seeking strategies possibly give these fungi advantages over other groups of microorganisms in soil ecosystems. These include chemotactic zoospores, mechanisms for adhesion to substrates, rhizoids which can penetrate substrates in small spaces, structures which are resistant to environmental extremes, rapid growth rates and simple nutritional requirements. These adaptations are discussed in the context of the characteristics of soils ecosystems. Recent advances in instrumentation have led to the development of new and more precise methods for studying microorganisms in three-dimensional space. New molecular techniques have made identification of microbes possible in environmental samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank H. Gleason
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - John W. Crawford
- Faculty of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Sigrid Neuhauser
- Institute of Microbiology, Leopold Franzens–University Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Linda E. Henderson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Osu Lilje
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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