Fungal Planet description sheets: 1284-1382.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: , from coastal sea sand. , on soil, on dead wood, from roots and leaves of and from capsules of , (incl. gen.

Secondary metabolites of the genus Penicillium from undisturbed and anthropogenically altered Antarctic habitats.

From undisturbed Antarctic habitats (permafrost sediments 30-150 thousand years of age, water of Radok Lake) and superficial deposits contaminated with petroleum products, we isolated 14 and 9 strains of Penicillium fungi, respectively. Comparison of the fungal complexes showed them to differ by species composition; only two species-P. palitans and P.

Fungal Planet description sheets: 951-1041.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: , from permafrost, from an unidentified marine sponge. , on humus in mixed forest. , Golovinomyces glandulariae on on leaves of on leaves of on leaves of , on soil, on rotten stalks of on leaf litter covered soil, (incl.

[Secondary Metabolites of Fungi of the Usti Section, Genus Aspergillus and Their Application in Chemosystematics].

Secondary metabolites of 22 fungal strains (genus Aspergillus, section Usti) isolated at diverse geographic regions, including the Arctic permafrost deposits, were studied. The studied strains were found to synthesize a variety of biologically active compounds, structurally identified as drimane sesqueterpenoids, isoquinoline alkaloids (TMC-120 A−C, derivative 1), meroterpenoids (austalides О and J), and anthraquinone pigments (averufin, versicolorin C). Desferritriacetylfusigen production by A.

[Exometabolites of the Fungal Isolates (Genus Penicillium, Section Chrysogena) from Low-Temperature Ecotopes].

Exometabolites of 22 strains of the genus Penicillium, section Chrysogena isolated from low-temperature ecotopes of various geographical regions were analyzed. The ecotopes included permafrost deposits, frozen volcanic ash, a fossil horse, cryopeg, and water from an Antarctic lake. The studied strains were found to contain exometabolites belonging to the groups of penicillins (penicillin G), chrysogins (chrysogin, 3-acetylquinazolone-4, 2-pyruvoyl aminobenzamide, 2-hydroxypropionyl amunobenzamide, and questiomycin A), roquefortines (3,12-dihydroroquefortine, roquefortine, glandicolines A and B, and meleagrine), xanthocillins (xanthocillin X), and simple tryptophan derivatives (N-acetyltriptamine and indoleacetic acid).

Comparative genome analysis of Pseudogymnoascus spp. reveals primarily clonal evolution with small genome fragments exchanged between lineages.

Background: Pseudogymnoascus spp. is a wide group of fungi lineages in the family Pseudorotiaceae including an aggressive pathogen of bats P. destructans.

[Trehalose: chemical structure, biological functions, and practical application].

Up-to-date information concerning the chemical structure and properties of trehalose, its natural occurrence and biological functions in plants, fungi, and prokaryotes, as well as its practical application, mainly in medicine and biotechnology, are reviewed. A special section deals with the role of trehalose and other protective polyols in stress processes in fungi.

[Fungal diversity in the Antarctic active layer].

Taxonomic diversity of fungi in the samples of the active layer of Antarctica was investigated using conventional microbiological techniques and metagenomic analysis of total DNA extracted from environmental samples. The list of Antarctic microscopic fungi was expanded, including detection of the species representing a portion of the fungal complex, which is nonculturable or sterile on conventional nutrient media.

Ancient fungi in Antarctic permafrost environments.

Filamentous fungi in 36 samples of Antarctic permafrost sediments were studied. The samples collected during the Russian Antarctic expedition of 2007-2009 within the framework of the Antarctic Permafrost Age Project (ANTPAGE) were recovered from different depths in ice-free oases located along the perimeter of the continent. Fungal diversity was determined by conventional microbiological techniques combined with a culture-independent method based on the analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) sequences in total DNA of the samples.

[Filamentous fungi's cell-wall extraction at different stages of ontogenesis and exploration of their carbohydrate composition].

Methods of obtaining cell walls (CW) for specimens of mucoraceous molds and ascomycetic affined fungi are developed at the stage of mycelium and resting cells, or spores. CW purity was assessed by electron microscopy, specific staining methods, scourage control, presence of ribose and desoxyribose, and the comparison of chitin content in whole cells and CW of fungi (a new criteria). The authors discuss the significance of the proposed methods of obtaining pure fractions of CW and of the study of their carbohydrate content for the chemotaxonomy of filamentous fungi.

[Lipid synthesis by Geomyces pannorum under the impact of stress factors].

Lipogenic activity and fatty acid composition of two strains of Geomyces pannorum were studied in the course of fungal growth. The strains were isolated from an Arctic cryopeg lens (VKM FW-2241) and from Central Russia (VKM F-3808). The adaptive reactions in both strains towards the temperature decreasing to 2 degrees C involved intensification of the fatty acid desaturation.

[The structure of micromycete complexes in permafrost and cryopegs of the Arctic].

A comparative study of the structure of micromycete complexes has been performed. The samples of micromycetes were taken by boring from unique habitats: cryopegs (lenses of non-freezing hypersaline water in ancient permafrost horizons) and permafrost Arctic sediments of different age enclosing these cryopegs. The possibility of characterizing the above habitats by the structure of specific complexes of microscopic fungi using qualitative and quantitative indices at extremely low numbers of these organisms was demonstrated.

[Growth and biosynthesis of rugulovasines in Penicillium variabile Sopp 1912].

Production of clavine alkaloids rugulovasines by P. variabile did not depend on the habitat of the producers. During submerged cultivation on a simple synthetic medium in early growth stages, microcyclic conidiation was observed in the tested fungi; its presence or absence, as well as the activity of the cultures as to biosynthesis of rugulovasines, depended on the composition of the culture medium.

[Microbial communities of ancient seeds derived from permanently frozen Pleistocene deposits].

Microbial communities from the surface of ancient seeds of higher plants and embedding frozen material dated to the late Pleistocene (formed about 30 thousand years ago) were studied by various methods: scanning electron microscopy, epifluorescence microscopy, and inoculation of nutrient media, followed by identification of isolated cultures. Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were found on the surface of ancient seeds. The total quantity of bacterial cells determined by direct counting and dilution plating (CFU) for the samples of ancient seeds exceeded the value in the embedding frozen material by one to two orders of magnitude.

[Enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay for PR-toxin in taxonomical assessment of fungi belonging to the genus Penicillium Link].

The use of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) involving polyclonal rabbit antibodies against BSA-conjugated PR-toxin (sensitivity, 1 ng/ml) established the ability to synthesize PR-toxin in 18 out of 35 morphologically identified strains of Penicillium roqueforti and P. chrysogenum. The results indicate that ELISA for PR-toxin may be used in assessing the taxonomical position of terverticillate penicillia in the presence of other micotoxins.

Microbial populations in Antarctic permafrost: biodiversity, state, age, and implication for astrobiology.

Antarctic permafrost soils have not received as much geocryological and biological study as has been devoted to the ice sheet, though the permafrost is more stable and older and inhabited by more microbes. This makes these soils potentially more informative and a more significant microbial repository than ice sheets. Due to the stability of the subsurface physicochemical regime, Antarctic permafrost is not an extreme environment but a balanced natural one.

[Halo- and psychrotolerant Geomyces fungi from arctic cryopegs and marine deposits].

Comparative characterization of Geomyces isolates was performed. The isolates were obtained from Arctic cryopegs and the surrounding ancient marine deposits, from nonsaline permafrost soils, and from temperate environments. Microbiological (cultural and morphological) and molecular criteria were used to confirm the identification of the isolates as Geomyces pannorum.

Biodiversity of cryopegs in permafrost.

This study describes the biodiversity of the indigenous microbial community in the sodium-chloride water brines (cryopegs) derived from ancient marine sediments and sandwiched within permafrost 100-120,000 years ago after the Arctic Ocean regression. Cryopegs remain liquid at the in situ temperature of -9 to -11 degrees C and make up the only habitat on the Earth that is characterized by permanently subzero temperatures, high salinity, and the absence of external influence during geological time. From these cryopegs, anaerobic and aerobic, spore-less and spore-forming, halotolerant and halophilic, psychrophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, mycelial fungi and yeast were isolated and their activity was detected below 0 degrees C.

[Mycelial fungi maintained in the Russia Collection of Microorganisms (VKM IBPM RAS)].

Information on application of diversity of mycelial fungi maintained in the Russia Collection of Microorganisms (VKM) at the Institute for Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences to research and biotechnology as producers is presented, as well as data on additions to the basic collection.

[The prevalence of cis-9-hexadecenoic acid is a specific feature of the fatty acid profile of zygomycetes from the order Kickxellales].

The fatty acid profiles of zygomycetes from the family Kickxellaceae of the order Kickxellales were studied with reference to the species Kicksella alabastrina of the key genus Kicksella of the family and the species Linderina pennispora. When synthesized de novo, the lipids of these species show the prevalence of cis-9-hexadecenoic acid. This trait is stable, does not depend on cultivation conditions, and can, therefore, be considered as a specific chemotaxonomic characteristic of fungi from the order Kickxellales.