Zonal Patterns of Changes in the Taxonomic Composition of Culturable Microfungi Isolated from Permafrost Peatlands of the European Northeast

Abstract

This paper provides the results of a study on fungal species diversity in the active and permafrost layers of peatlands within frozen peatbogs in the flatland areas of the cryolitozone, European Northeast of Russia (forest-tundra zone, southern and northern tundra subzones). Fungal taxonomic list includes eighty-three species from seventeen genera and two forms of Mycelia sterilia. The phylum Mucoromycota is represented by fifteen species (18% of total isolate number), and these species exhibit the following distribution by genus: Mucor (four), Mortierella (seven), Umbelopsis (three), Podila (one). Ascomycota is represented by sixty-eight species from thirteen genera. The genus Penicillium dominates the species saturation (thirty-seven species, 44%). Soil microfungal complex is represented by rare species (51%), random species (32%), frequent species (15%), and dominant species (2%). In peat soils, dominant species are Penicillium canescens (72%) and non-pigmented (albino) Mycelia sterilia (61%); abundant species are Talaromyces funiculosus (41%), Pseudogymnoascus pannorum (36%), albino Mycelia sterilia (29%), Umbelopsis vinacea (25%), Mortierella alpina (17%), Penicillium decumbens (21%), P. spinulosum (20%), and P. canescens (17%). In active layers of peat soils, abundant species are Penicillium thomii (14%), Mycelia sterilia (13%), Penicillium spinulosum (13%), Penicillium simplicissimum (13%) in forest-tundra; Talaromyces funiculosus (21%), albino Mycelia sterilia (15%), Umbelopsis vinacea (14%) in southern tundra; Penicillium decumbens (23%), P. canescens (17%), P. thomii (13%) in northern tundra. In permafrost peat layers, abundant species are Penicillium spinulosum (17%), Talaromyces funiculosus (34%), and Umbelopsis vinacea (15%) in forest-tundra; Pseudogymnoascus pannorum (30%) and Mortierella alpina (28%) in southern tundra; Pseudogymnoascus pannorum (80%) in northern tundra.

Keywords

• Arctic
• permafrost peatland (peat plateau)
• active layer
• permafrost layer
• microfungi
• fungal community