High prevalence of parasitic chytrids infection of glacier algae in cryoconite holes in Alaska.

ABSTRACT: Glacier algae, which are photosynthetic microbes growing on ice, considerably reduce the surface albedo of glaciers and accelerate their melting rate. Although the growth of glacier algae can be suppressed by parasitic chytrids, the impact of chytrids on algal populations is still largely unknown. In this study, we described the morphology of the chytrid infecting the glacier alga Ancylonema nordenskioeldii and quantified the prevalence of infection in different habitats on a mountain glacier in Alaska, USA. Microscopic observations revealed three different morphological types of chytrids with distinct rhizoid shapes. Variations in the size of the sporangia were probably because of their different growth stages, indicating that they actively propagated on the glacier. The prevalence of inf

SUBMITTER: Kobayashi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9998860 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature