Sun Exposure Shapes Functional Grouping of Fungi in Cryptoendolithic Antarctic Communities.

ABSTRACT: Antarctic cryptoendolithic microbial communities dominate ice-free areas of continental Antarctica, among the harshest environments on Earth. The endolithic lifestyle is a remarkable adaptation to the exceptional environmental extremes of this area, which is considered the closest terrestrial example to conditions on Mars. Recent efforts have attempted to elucidate composition of these extremely adapted communities, but the functionality of these microbes have remained unexplored. We have tested for interactions between measured environmental characteristics, fungal community membership, and inferred functional classification of the fungi present and found altitude and sun exposure were primary factors. Sandstone rocks were collected in Victoria Land, Antarctica along an altitudinal gradie

SUBMITTER: Coleine C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6027399 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature