Arctic driftwood reveals unexpectedly rich fungal diversity

Published Date
Fungal Ecology
October 2016, Vol.23:58–65, doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2016.06.001

• Author 

• Robert A. Blanchette ^a,,
• Benjamin W. Held ^a
• Lena Hellmann ^b
• Lawrence Millman ^c
• Ulf Büntgen ^b,d

• aDepartment of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
• bSwiss Federal Research Institute, WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
• cMycology, P.O. Box 381582, Cambridge, MA, 02238, USA
• dGlobal Change Research Centre AS CR, 603 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Received 22 March 2016. Revised 18 May 2016. Accepted 8 June 2016. Available online 7 July 2016. Corresponding Editor: Felix Bärlocher

Highlights

• •
  Fungi in the Arctic are exceedingly important to healthy ecosystem functioning.
• •
  Different fungal communities are found in driftwood from Greenland, Iceland and Russia.
• •
  Ascomycota dominate in Arctic driftwood and soft rot is the major form of wood decay.
• •
  Cadophora species are common in Arctic driftwood and they play an important role in decomposition.
• •
  Most sequences from the few Basidiomycota found in Arctic driftwood do not match known species.

Abstract

Arctic driftwood can provide unique insight into the diversity of colonizing and decaying fungi at the interface of extremely cold terrestrial and marine environments. Entering the Arctic Ocean via large boreal river systems and being transported by currents and sea ice, driftwood is finally deposited along shallow coastlines. Here, we sequence 177 fungal cultures in driftwood from Iceland, Greenland and the Siberian Lena Delta. Although some fungi may survive during ice drift, most species are not shared among the different sampling sites. Many indigenous Arctic fungi are generalists in their ability to colonize and decompose organic substrata, with massive effects on carbon cycling. Cadophora species are the most frequent Ascomycota, and soft rot is the most prevalent form of decay. Few Basidiomycota were found, with many of them having poor sequence matches to known species. Future research is warranted with a focus on the biology, ecology and taxonomy of Arctic driftwood inhabiting fungi.

Keywords

Ascomycota

Basidiomycota

Biodegradation

Community ecology

Greenland

Iceland

ITS

Russia

Soft rot

Taxonomy

Wood decay

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  Corresponding author.

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd and British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.

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