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Kaihua paper is a type of precious hand-made paper in China that has been used throughout Chinese history. Due to its extraordinary whiteness and fine texture, it was adopted by the imperial palace in the reign of Emperor Kang Xi and Yong Zheng of the Qing Dynasty of China in the 17th and 18th century. It is stained by a special type of yellowish-brown spot after years of storage, which is called a "peachy spot." The formation of such spots remains unclear, although complicated physicochemical processes or microbial activities might be involved. We performed nondestructive sampling and high-throughput sequencing on peachy spot surfaces, unstained areas, and air samples in the stack room to analysis the the bacterial and fungal communities, and performed prediction of functional genes of the bacterial communities. The results showed that peachy spot formation was mainly related to bacterial communities rather than fungal communities. Significantly more potential acid-producing, acidophilic or cellulase-producing bacteria, such as, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Lysinibacillus, and pigment-producing bacteria, such as Methylobacterium and Rubrobacter, were identified in the peachy spot samples. Prediction of the functional genes of the bacterial community also suggested the production of acidic substance pigments. These findings provide new insights into the pigment formation mechanism in ancient paper and open an opportunity to develop new strategies to preserve the ancient paper documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the deteriorating aspects of a historical manuscript (papers and leather bookbinding) dated back to the 17th century were evaluated with reference to the role of the associated fungal communities. The deterioration signs were investigated using visual assessment, SEM, ATR-FTIR, XRD, color changes, and pH values compared with control. Data showed that the most deterioration aspects were represented by the dust, dirt, erosion, stains, bores, weakness, missed parts, decreasing in paper crystallinity, shifting of wavenumbers of cellulosic band, and changing of color and pH. The dependent-culturable technique showed that thirteen fungal strains were associated with historical manuscript and identified using traditional and molecular methods as Aspergillus niger (three isolates), A. fumigatus (two isolates), A. quadrilineatus (three isolates), Penicillium citrinum (two isolates), and P. chrysogenium (three isolates). These fungal strains showed high efficacy to secretion various hydrolytic enzymes including cellulase, amylase, gelatinase, and pectinase which play a critical role in biodeterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Archives and libraries all over the world suffer from biodeterioration of writings caused by microorganisms, especially fungi. With traditionally used culture-dependent methods, only a small amount of effectively colonising organisms is detected. Restoration and maintenance of written cultural heritage is therefore problematic due to incomplete knowledge of the deterioration agents. In the present study, culture-independent molecular methods were applied to identify fungal communities colonising paper samples of different composition and age. Nucleic-acid-based strategies targeting the internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, which are nested in the nuclear rDNA repeats, were selected to investigate the fungal diversity on paper. The ITS regions possess a high variation among taxonomically distinct fungal species and even within the species. With this aim, several molecular biological methods were optimised for working with paper materials. Here, we introduce a DNA extraction protocol, which allowed the direct extraction of PCR-amplifiable DNA from samples derived from different kinds of paper. The DNA extracts were used to amplify either the ITS1 or ITS2 region by using different fungi-specific primer sets. The ITS-amplified regions were subsequently analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Conditions for DGGE analysis, gradient, voltage, and running time, were established to accurately discriminate different fungal species in complex communities. Pure fungal strains were used to constitute a marker for further comparative investigations of historic papers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Peter D. Crittenden served as senior editor of The Lichenologist, the flagship journal in the field of lichenological research, for a period of two decades, between 2000 and 2019. A review of the development of the journal and the publication output during this period is provided. The number of papers published during this period (1197) matches that of all papers published under the three previous senior editors, Peter W. James, David L. Hawksworth and Dennis H. Brown, during a much longer period of 42 years from 1958 to 1999. Peter oversaw important editorial changes to the layout and content of the journal: an increased size with a modern cover design, leaving behind the classic mint-coloured cover of more than 40 years; the addition of 'thematic issues' and encouragement of large monographs; implementation of substantial changes to the Code, such as effective electronic publication and obligate registration of new fungal names; and more recently a new policy to reject so-called 'single naked species descriptions'. Shortly before Peter took over as senior editor, The Lichenologist had received its first impact factor, and Peter managed to continuously increase this measure from around 0.9 to lately up to over 1.5, higher than most other competing journals. The 1197 papers between 2000 and 2019 were published by a total of 1138 different authors, more than half of whom appeared just once as author, whereas a small number participated in numerous (up to 93) papers. There was a continuous increase in the mean number of authors per paper per year, from below 2.5 to around 3.5, the highest numbers ranging between 11 and 30; still, c. 75% of all papers between 2000 and 2019 were single-authored or had up to three authors. Based on affiliations at the time of publication, two thirds of author contributions came from Europe (66%), 13% from North America, 9% from Asia and 7% from Latin America. Likewise, almost half of the study areas were located in Europe and around 10% each in North America, South America and Asia. The countries with the highest number of studies included, in descending order, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden. North America and Europe were over-represented in terms of author contributions, whereas Africa, Latin America, Australia and Oceania were over-represented in terms of study areas. The 1197 papers analyzed encompassed a broad diversity of topics, classified into 32 categories. Taxonomy of lichenized fungi was the most frequent component, representing the focal point in almost half of all studies, followed by phylogeny and evolution, ecology, and the taxonomy of lichenicolous fungi. Around two thirds of the currently accepted genera of lichenized fungi were treated, with a significant correlation between known species richness and the number of papers in which a genus was treated, underlining the taxonomic representativity of papers published in the journal during the past two decades. Examples of genera that were treated more frequently than expected included commonly studied model organisms, such as Lobaria, and those frequently featured in ecological or other non-taxonomic studies, such as Xanthoria. Species-rich tropical genera, particularly in the Graphidaceae, were generally under-represented. Mean number of authors per paper per volume and total number of country origins of authors per volume were the best predictors of impact factor, followed by diversity of study countries per volume, mean number of study countries per paper per volume, mean number of topics per paper per volume, and proportion of studies with phylogenetic components per volume. Individual papers that contributed to high impact factors included broad-scale revisionary treatments and worldwide keys to species-rich taxa, substantial phylogenetic reclassifications of known taxonomic groups, papers dealing with novel methodological approaches of broad interest, and broad-scale studies related to environmental change and lichen biomonitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose-rich amendments stimulate saprotrophic fungi in arable soils. This may increase competitive and antagonistic interactions with root-infecting pathogenic fungi, resulting in lower disease incidence. However, cellulose-rich amendments may also stimulate pathogenic fungi with saprotrophic abilities, thereby increasing plant disease severity. The current study explores these scenarios, with a focus on the pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. Saprotrophic growth of R. solani on cellulose-rich materials was tested in vitro. This confirmed paper pulp as a highly suitable substrate for R. solani, whereas its performance on wood sawdusts varied with tree species. In two pot experiments, the effects of amendment of R. solani-infected soil with cellulose-rich materials on performance of beetroot seedlings were tested. All deciduous sawdusts and paper pulp stimulated soil fungal biomass, but only oak, elder and beech sawdusts reduced damping-off of beetroot. Oak sawdust amendment gave a consistent stimulation of saprotrophic Sordariomycetes fungi and of seedling performance, independently of the time between amendment and sowing. In contrast, paper pulp caused a short-term increase in R. solani abundance, coinciding with increased disease severity for beet seedlings sown immediately after amendment. However, damping-off of beetroot was reduced if plants were sown two or four weeks after paper pulp amendment. Cellulolytic bacteria, including Cytophagaceae, responded to paper pulp during the first two weeks and may have counteracted further spread of R. solani. The results showed that fungus-stimulating, cellulose-rich amendments have potential to be used for suppression of R. solani. However, such amendments require a careful consideration of material choice and application strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities of Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) and paper birch ( Betula papyrifera) were studied along a chronosequence of forest development after stand-replacing disturbance. Previous studies of ECM succession did not use molecular techniques for fungal identification or lacked replication, and none examined different host species. • Four age classes of mixed forests were sampled: 5-, 26-, 65-, and 100-yr-old, including wildfire-origin stands from all four classes and stands of clearcut origin from the youngest two classes. Morphotyping and DNA sequences were used to identify fungi on ECM root tips. • ECM fungal diversities were lower in 5-yr-old than in older stands on Douglas-fir, but were similar among age classes on paper birch. Host-specific fungi dominated in 5-yr-old stands, but host generalists were dominant in the oldest two age classes. ECM fungal community compositions were similar in 65- and 100-yr-old stands but differed among all other pairs of age classes. • Within the age range studied, site-level ECM fungal diversity reached a plateau by the 26-yr-old age class, while community composition stabilized by the 65-yr-old class. Simple categories such as ‘early stage’, ‘multi stage’, and ‘late stage’ were insufficient to describe fungal species’ successional patterns. Rather, ECM fungal succession may be best described in the context of stand development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Botany is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fungi are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and may play an important role in atmospheric processes. We investigated the composition and diversity of fungal communities over the Amazon rainforest canopy and compared these communities to fungal communities found in terrestrial environments. We characterized the total fungal community and the metabolically active portion of the community using high-throughout DNA and RNA sequencing and compared these data to predictions generated by a mass-balance model. We found that the total community was primarily comprised of fungi from the phylum Basidiomycota. In contrast, the active community was primarily composed of members of the phylum Ascomycota and included a high relative abundance of lichen fungi, which were not detected in the total community. The relative abundance of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota in the total and active communities was consistent with our model predictions, suggesting that this result was driven by the relative size and number of spores produced by these groups. When compared to other environments, fungal communities in the atmosphere were most similar to communities found in tropical soils and leaf surfaces, suggesting that inputs of fungi to the atmosphere are from local, rather than distant, sources. Our results demonstrate that there are significant diffrences in the composition of the total and active fungal communities in the atmosphere, and that lichen fungi, which have been shown to be efficient ice nucleators, may be abundant members of active atmospheric fungal communities over the forest canopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) serve important functions in conserving biodiversity and ecological service in arid and semi-arid regions. Afforestation on shifting sand dunes can induce the formation of BSC on topsoil, which can accelerate the restoration of a degraded ecosystem. However, the studies on microbial community succession along BSC development under sand-fixation plantations in desertification areas are limited. This paper investigated the soil properties, enzymatic activities, and bacterial and fungal community structures across an age sequence (0-, 10-, 22-, and 37-year-old) of BSCs under Caragana microphylla sand-fixation plantations in Horqin Sandy Land, Northeast China. The dynamics in the diversities and structures of soil bacterial and fungal communities were detected via the high-throughput sequencing of the 16S and ITS rRNA genes, respectively. The soil nutrients and enzymatic activities all linearly increased with the development of BSC; furthermore, soil enzymatic activity was more sensitive to BSC development than soil nutrients. The diversities of the bacterial and fungal communities gradually increased along BSC development. There was a significant difference in the structure of the bacterial/fungal communities of the moving sand dune and BSC sites, and similar microbial compositions among different BSC sites were found. The successions of microbial communities in the BSC were characterized as a sequential process consisting of an initial phase of the faster recoveries of dominant taxa, a subsequent slower development phase, and a final stable phase. The quantitative response to BSC development varied with the dominant taxa. The secondary successions of the microbial communities of the BSC were affected by soil factors, and soil moisture, available nutrients, nitrate reductase, and polyphenol oxidase were the main influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot springs contain many microorganisms, and a great deal of research has been conducted on the bacteria in hot springs but less on the fungi. Microbial diversity research in hot springs will help to further develop and utilize the microbial resources from hot springs. This is the first study to analyze the fungal diversity and ecological functions in Tangchi hot spring (China). In this paper, the fungal ITS sequences in the water samples of Tangchi hot spring were sequenced by Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatically analyzed to explore the fungal diversity and ecological functions in the hot spring. The results revealed that the dominant fungal phylum was Ascomycota, followed by Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Olpidiomycota, and the dominant fungal genera were Rhizophydium, Aureobasidium, Rhodotorula, and Sclerotinia in Tangchi hot spring. The FUNGuild functional analysis results revealed that the dominant guilds in Tangchi hot spring were plant pathogens followed by the undefined saprotroph and the animal endosymbiont–animal pathogen–endophyte–plant pathogen–undefined saprotroph. This study can fill the gap in people's understanding of fungal resources and offer theoretical support for understanding the fungal diversity and fungal resource development and utilization in Tangchi hot spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his seminal paper, Göte Turesson proposed the term ecotype as the 'ecological unit to cover the product arising as a result of the genotypical response of an ecospecies to a particular habitat'. Turesson further outlined that to fully understand the ecology of a species, a knowledge of its most important ecotypes is needed. Whereas Turesson's original idea of an ecotype mainly referred to the response of a species to abiotic conditions, there is mounting evidence that ecotypes can also originate as a response to biotic conditions. Hence, to understand the ecology of a species, one should also understand the distribution and variation in biotic interactions. For plants, one such biotic interaction involves mycorrhizal fungi. Particularly in mycoheterotrophic plants, i.e. plants that rely on mycorrhizal fungi for their carbon supply, adaptation to and specialization on mycorrhizal fungi have the potential to drive ecotype formation and speciation. In this paper, we provide evidence that populations of mycoheterotrophic plants inhabiting contrasting habitats commonly encounter divergent mycorrhizal fungal communities leading to geographic mosaics of mycorrhizal interactions. Adaptation to local fungal communities, in turn, can induce (partial) reproductive isolation and contribute to ecotype and ultimately species formation as a result of decreased fitness of immigrant genotypes (immigrant inviability). In the most extreme case, loss of photosynthesis and mycorrhizal switching have led to reproductive isolation and the development of novel species that have become fully mycoheterotrophic. Such shifts have occurred repeatedly during the evolutionary history of land plants. We conclude that mycorrhizal fungi not only contribute to the early divergence of populations of mycoheterotrophic plants, but also play a crucial role in the further diversification and origination of this unique set of species that rely on mycorrhizal fungi for obtaining carbon and completing their life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amplicon-targeted metagenomics is now the standard approach for the study of the composition and dynamics of food microbial communities. Hundreds of papers on this subject have been published in scientific journals and the information is dispersed in a variety of sources, while raw sequences and their metadata are available in public repositories for some, but not all, of the published studies. A limited number of web resources and databases allow scientists to access this wealth of information but their level of annotation on studies and samples varies. Here, we report on the release of FoodMicrobionet v5, a comprehensive database of metataxonomic studies on bacterial and fungal communities of foods. The current version of the database includes 251 published studies (11 focusing on fungal microbiota, 230 on bacterial microbiota, and 10 providing data for both bacterial and fungal microbiota) and 14,035 samples with data on bacteria and 1114 samples with data on fungi. The new structure of the database is compatible with interactive apps and scripts developed for previous versions and allows scientists, R&D personnel in industries and regulators to access a wealth of information on food microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, some new Qi-Nan clones of Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Spreng which intensively produces high-quality agarwood have been identified and propagated through grafting techniques. Previous studies have primarily focused on ordinary A. sinensis and the differences in composition when compared to Qi-Nan and ordinary A. sinensis. There are few studies on the formation mechanism of Qi- Nan agarwood and the dynamic changes in components and endophytic fungi during the induction process. In this paper, the characteristics, chemical composition, and changes in endophytic fungi of Qi-Nan agarwood induced after 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years were studied, and Qi-Nan white wood was used as the control. The results showed that the yield of Qi-Nan agarwood continued to increase with the induction time over a period of 3 years, while the content of alcohol extract from Qi-Nan agarwood reached its peak at two years. During the formation of agarwood, starch and soluble sugars in xylem rays and interxylary phloem are consumed and reduced. Most of the oily substances in agarwood were filled in xylem ray cells and interxylary phloem, and a small amount was filled in xylem vessels. The main components of Qi-Nan agarwood are also chromones and sesquiterpenes. With an increasing induction time, the content of sesquiterpenes increased, while the content of chromones decreased. The most abundant chromones in Qi-Nan agarwood were 2-(2-Phenethyl) chromone, 2-[2-(3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl) ethyl] chromone, and2-[2-(4- Methoxyphenyl) ethyl] chromone. Significant differences were observed in the species of the endophytic fungi found in Qi-Nan agarwood at different induction times. A total of 4 phyla, 73 orders, and 448 genera were found in Qi-Nan agarwood dominated by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Different induction times had a significant effect on the diversity of the endophytic fungal community in Qi-Nan. After the induction of agarwood formation, the diversity of Qi-Nan endophytic fungi decreased. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between endophytic fungi and the yield, alcohol extract content, sesquiterpene content, and chromone content of Qi-Nan agarwood, which indicated that endophytic fungi play a role in promoting the formation of Qi-Nan agarwood. Qi-Nan agarwood produced at different induction times exhibited strong antioxidant capacity. DPPH free radical scavenging activity and reactive oxygen species clearance activity were significantly positively correlated with the content of sesquiterpenes and chromones in Qi-Nan agarwood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The paper represents the first DNA-based occurrence dataset on peatland fungal communities published for north-western Siberia, the first for Russia and complements several existing datasets on metabarcoding of peat soils globally. New information: The aim of the present publication is to describe the first DNA-based occurrence dataset on fungal communities in peat soils and other substrates studied by the eDNA approach in the Mukhrino raised bog, located in a large paludified area of north-western Siberia. A comparison of the species diversity of larger fungi identified by the conventional approach and by eDNA showed a high proportion of shared taxa. Other groups (mainly Ascomycota), described by metabarcoding, revealed high diversity compared with conventional observation. Overall, the species richness identified in one peatland locality (the Mukhrino Bog) was comparable in number of species to the global estimation of fungal diversity in peatlands, previously reported in literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of phyllosphere microbial community is closely related to plant health. In order to understand the microecological characteristics of tobacco leaves infected with wildfire disease, community structure and diversity of phyllosphere microbiome in diseased spots and healthy tissues of tobacco leaves with different degrees of disease were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing technology in this paper. The results were as follows: (1) The dominant microorganisms in diseased and healthy tissues were Proteobacteria and Ascomycota, and their relative abundance in diseased tissues was significantly higher than that in healthy tissues. The dominant genera were Pseudomonas, Pantoea, Alternaria, Plectosphaerella and Conocybe, and only the relative abundance of Pseudomonas in diseased tissues was significantly higher than that in healthy tissues. (2) The diversity and richness of bacterial communities in diseased spots were higher than those in healthy tissues, and the diversity index showed a trend of decreasing and then increasing with the increase of the disease degree, and the richness index showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing. The richness and diversity index of fungal communities in diseased spots showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing with the increase of the disease degree, and the diversity index and richness of fungal communities in diseased spot tissues of mildly and moderately diseased leaves were higher than those in healthy tissues, but the diversity index and richness of fungal communities in heavily diseased tissues were lower than those in healthy tissues. (3) Gene functional information and relative abundance of bacteria in diseased spots and healthy tissues were generally similar, primarily were metabolism, genetic information processing and environmental information processing. The dominant functional taxa of fungus were plant pathogen, animal pathogen-endophyte-plant pathogen-wood saprotroph, undefined saprotroph, wood saprotroph and plant pathogen-wood saprotroph. The results provide a reference for the understanding of evolutionary pattern of tobacco wildfire disease and characterization of the phyllosphere microbial community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine fungi are an ecological rather than a taxonomic group that has been widely researched. Significant progress has been made in documenting their phylogeny, biodiversity, ultrastructure, ecology, physiology, and capacity for degradation of lignocellulosic compounds. This review (concept paper) summarizes the current knowledge of marine fungal diversity and provides an integrated and comprehensive view of their ecological roles in the world's oceans. Novel terms for 'semi marine fungi' and 'marine fungi' are proposed based on the existence of fungi in various oceanic environments. The major maritime currents and upwelling that affect species diversity are discussed. This paper also forecasts under-explored regions with a greater diversity of marine taxa based on oceanic currents. The prospects for marine and semi-marine mycology are highlighted, notably, technological developments in culture-independent sequencing approaches for strengthening our present understanding of marine fungi's ecological roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karst caves are unique oligotrophic ecosystems characterised by the scarcity of organic litter, darkness, low to moderate temperatures, and high humidity, supporting diverse fungal communities. Despite their importance, little is known about the fungi in karst caves in Thailand. In 2019, we explored the culturable mycobiota associated with three selected types of substrates (air, soil/sediment and organic litter samples) from two karst caves, the Le Stegodon and Phu Pha Phet Caves, in the Satun UNESCO Global Geopark in southern Thailand. Based on morphological characters and multilocus phylogenetic analyses, eight new species (Actinomortierella caverna, Hypoxylon phuphaphetense, Leptobacillium latisporum, Malbranchea phuphaphetensis, Scedosporium satunense, Sesquicillium cavernum, Thelonectria satunensis and Umbelopsis satunensis) were described, illustrated, and compared to closely related species. These new fungal taxa form independent lineages distinct from other previously described species and classified into eight different families across six orders and two phyla (Ascomycota and Mucoromycota). This paper provides additional evidence that the karst caves located within the Satun UNESCO Global Geopark, situated in the southern region of Thailand, harbour a diverse range of newly discovered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima, is a deciduous tree indigenous to China and introduced for ornamental purposes into North America and Europe. It shows a highly invasive profile in field, urban, and suburban areas, posing a serious threat to ecosystems in the introduced ranges. The current management of this noxious infesting plant by mechanical and chemical measures remains ephemeral and incomplete. A multi-tactic approach emphasizing classical biological control appears highly relevant. Eriophyid mites are well known for their high specificity and for the impact caused to the associated hosts, resulting in relevant potential biological control agents of infesting plants. The partially unresolved taxonomy of the eriophyid mite species reported on the tree of heaven is currently seen as an impediment to their further concern as biocontrol agents. This paper investigated morphological and molecular characters of Aculus mosoniensis in order to better clarify its taxonomic status. A paratype specimen of Aculops taihangensis was also studied, and this mite species was reassigned to the genus Aculus. The strong congruence between morphological and molecular analyses for all mites collected on tree of heaven in Europe led to the conclusion that A. mosoniensis is a junior synonym of Ac. taihangensis. The taxonomy of Aculus mosoniensis appears to be an unresolved question and its clarification is required, owing to the potential relevance of this mite species as a biological control agent of the tree of heaven. This paper is aimed at giving accurate details on a previously and shortly announced synonymization with Aculops taihangensis, using a morphological and molecular approach. A fusiform morph of A. mosoniensis was distinguished from a vermiform morph and this latter was recognized as deutogyne, which was herein documented. Phylogenetic relationships between Chinese Ac. taihangensis and all A. mosoniensis mites collected in twenty localities in Europe were examined through the analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c subunit I (CO1) protein and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 region (ITS1). CO1 sequences of Ac. taihangensis from the Shandong province in China and those from mites collected in Austria and Slovenia were 100% identical; the ITS1 sequence of an Ac. taihangensis paratype matched for 99.8% with those obtained from protogynes and deutogynes of A. mosoniensis collected in Italy. All these data supported the announced synonymization of A. mosoniensis with Ac. taihangensis. Aculusmosoniensis was found genetically variable, with five CO1 haplotypes in Europe (becoming eight along with those of Ac. taihangensis) clustering in two highly supported maternal lineages and eight ITS1 haplotypes (becoming nine along with those of Ac. taihangensis) distributed in four supported clades. No overlap between intra- and interspecies distances was observed for both markers and all studied A. mosoniensis populations clustered in one monophyletic mitochondrial clade, suggesting that only one single species might occur in Europe. However, more mite clades may be related to more tree of heaven biotypes with potential ecological differences, which might have potential effects on the biological control and should be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S and ITS2 rRNA genes were used to determine the dynamic changes in bacterial and fungal communities and soil properties and enzyme activities in rhizosphere soil of ginseng under forest after 5, 10 and 15 years of cultivation and different growth stages. Results showed that the changes were particularly prominent in 10-year-old ginseng under forest, and the trends of organic carbon, alkaline hydrolysed nitrogen, and available potassium were extremely similar in different duration of the crop, especially in the middle stage of rapid root growth, when soil nutrient consumption was severe, and soil enzyme activities of rhizosphere were significantly reduced. The observed changes in soil properties and enzyme activities caused by the cultivation duration of the crop and growth stage could be explained by the variations in the microbiome. The microbial composition of 10-year-old ginseng under forest has undergone significant changes, at the genus level, both Acinetobacter bacteria and Kazachstania fungi exhibited a higher abundance; the abundance of Bacillota (Firmicutes), and Candidatus udaeobacter with significantly lower abundance. This study initially revealed the changes in nutrient utilisation of ginseng under forest at different cultivation duration of the crop and different growth stages, as well as the regulatory role played by microbes in this process preliminarily. We consider 10 years to be a critical stage for the long-term cultivation of ginseng in the forest, during which it is more sensitive to environmental factors and may exhibit special dynamic changes affecting its growth and quality. This provides a reference for further precision planting and harvesting of ginseng under the forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] The paper aimed to explore the interaction between rhizosphere soil fungi and different tobacco varieties, and reveal significant differences in species among different varieties of diseased rhizosphere soil fungi, as to provide reference for the study of resistance mechanism of tobacco varieties and biological pest control. [Method] Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the composition and diversity of fungal community in rhizosphere soil of diseased plants of 8 tobacco varieties in Yunnan province, [Result] The OTU abundance of fungi in diseased rhizosphere soil of different varieties ranged from 822 to 1126. There were significant differences in the diversity and richness index of rhizosphere soil fungi among different varieties, and varieties K326, Yun 105, Yun 87 and Yun 99 were significantly higher than other varieties. At phylum level, the dominant fungi in the diseased thizusphere soil of each variety were Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota and Basidiomycota. At the genus level, Microidium, Fusarium, Humicola, Mortierella and Alternaria were the dominant genera in each treatment group. The significant difference analysis of LEFSe showed that Humicola, Candida, Plectosphaerella, Alternaria, Papulaspora, Fusarium, Boeremia, Mortierella, Gibberella were the important significantly different species in the diseased rhizosphere soil of different varieties. [Conclusion] There are significant differences in fungal community structure and diversity in rhizosphere soil of different varieties, and the distribution of significantly different species is related to the resistance of varieties. Among the varieties with high resistance to black shank disease (Yun 97, K326, Yun 100 and Yun 87), beneficial bacteria are mainly present, while in susceptible and moderately resistant varieties (Hongda, Yun 105, Yun 116 and Yun 99), harmful bacterial groups such as pathogenic bacteria are clustered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences is the property of Editorial Board of Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The massive planting of exotic species under the so-called forestry model has dramatically transformed the landscapes of south-central Chile, replacing diverse agricultural, livestock and forest landscapes with forest monocultures, which are highly water-consuming and prone to massive fires. This has meant a productive simplification, and peasant communities have been displaced and stripped of their traditional ways of life. However, in this landscape of disaster, biotic communities of fungi have flourished, and with them human communities of collectors have learned to sustain themselves in a monocultural and privatized scenario. This paper is based on a multi-local ethnographic approach, built upon 26 semi-structured interviews, participant observation, social mapping, creating a calendar and a trend line. The text documents the processes of two communities affected by massive fires which have developed organization, agencies and practices. Mushrooms (callampas in Chilean Spanish) are claimed as a common good derived from the forestry model, claiming access to their use and usufruct of land belonging to forestry companies. They have also developed local governance systems for the care and better use of this new resource for common use. Forestry companies, for their part, try to subsume these practices in their territorial governance processes, disputing these commons' meaning and purpose. Both cases contribute to empirically address the central thesis of this article, according to which communalization exercises within contexts of capitalist expansion constitute responses of survival, resistance and adaptation in landscapes transformed and devastated by extractivist industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wall paintings have been a cultural expression of human creativity throughout history. Their degradation or destruction represents a loss to the world's cultural heritage, and fungi have been identified as a major contributor to their decay. We provide a critical review of fungi isolated from worldwide wall paintings between 1961–2021. One-hundred three scientific papers were reviewed focusing on fungal diversity, isolation protocols, and spatial distribution of data. The study sites were grouped into five environmental categories on the basis of the expected major microclimatic conditions (temperature, relative humidity, ventilation), and the possible relationship with the species found was investigated. The highest number of records were localized in Europe, with 38 sites on a total of 74, 20 of which were from Italy. A total of 378 fungal entries were obtained, consisting of 1209 records, belonging to 260 different species and 173 genera. The accuracy level in taxa determination was highly variable among different papers analyzed. Data showed a dominance of Ascomycota, mainly of orders Eurotiales and Hypocreales probably due to their wide distribution and easily air dispersed spores and due to the possible pitfalls linked to the isolation methods, favoring rapidly growing taxa. Statistical analyses revealed that fungal communities were not strictly linked to environmental categories with different ventilation, temperature, and humidity. Such findings may be due to the wide geographical area, the wide heterogeneity of the data, and/or the absence of standardized sampling and analyses protocols. They could also be the result of the dominance of some prevailing factors in the various sites that mask the influence one of each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuber melanosporum (Ascomycota, Pezizales) is an ectomycorrhizal fungus that produces highly appreciated hypogeous fruiting bodies called black truffles. The aim of this paper was to research the composition of ectomycorrhiza-associated fungal and bacterial communities in T. melanosporum oak plantations. Results of this paper showed the competitive effect of T. melanosporum on other fungal species, especially other mycorrhizal and pathogenic species. T. melanosporum was shown to be associated mainly with bacteria, some of them important for their properties as mycorrhizal helper bacteria. A dendrogram analysis of co-occurrence showed that T. melanosporum tended to co-occur with the following bacteria species: Singulisphaera limicola, Nannocistis exceedns and Sporosarcina globispora. In addition, it was linked to fungal species such as Mortierella elongata, M. minutissima, Cryptococcus uzbekistanensis, C. chernovii and C. aerius. This study provides an exhaustive analysis of the diversity, structure and composition of fungal and bacterial communities associated with T. melanosporum to enhance understanding of the biology, composition and role of these communities in truffle plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was discovering the diversity of macromycetes in the territory of Batočina (Serbia). Field studies, which lasted more than a year, revealed the presence of 200 species of macromycetes. The identified species belong to phyla Basidiomycota (191 species) and Ascomycota (9 species). The biggest number of registered species (100 species) was from the order Agaricales. Among the identified species was one strictly protected - Phallus hadriani and seven protected species: Amanita caesarea, Marasmius oreades, Cantharellus cibarius, Craterellus cornucopia-odes, Tuber aestivum, Russula cyanoxantha and R. virescens; also, several rare and endangered species of Serbia. This paper is a contribution to the knowledge of the diversity of macromycetes not only in the territory of Batočina, but in Serbia, in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document discusses the latest advances and prospects in fungal-plant interactions, specifically focusing on forest trees and fungi. The document highlights the various ecological functions that fungi perform, such as establishing symbiotic associations with plant roots and facilitating nutrient and signal flows between neighboring plants. The papers included in this special issue cover topics such as the mitigation of adverse effects of salt stress on plants through the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, the promotion of forest growth through the establishment of ectomycorrhizal structures, the induction of agarwood production using specific fungi, the early diagnosis of cork oak decline caused by soil-borne fungi, the impact of fertilization and irrigation on fungal communities in Eucalyptus plantations, the role of viruses in regulating bacterial carbon cycling processes, and the stimulation of plant growth through allelopathy. Overall, this special issue provides valuable insights into fungal-plant interactions and their applications in forest management. [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, managed forest ( MF) and natural forest ( NF) in the Huajiang Demonstration Zone of Guanling, Guizhou were selected as research objects, and cropland ( CL) was taken as control. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to study the characteristics of fungal community composition and species diversity in the surface ( 0 - 10 cm) soil of each restoration measure, in order to reveal the dominant soil fungal groups and fungal community composition in karst rocky desertification areas, which was conducive to a more comprehensive understanding of the soil conditions of different vegetation restoration measures. Research has shown that vegetation restoration significantly affected the diversity of soil fungal community, with significant increases in Sob index, Ace index, and Chao index. The vegetation restoration has significantly changed the composition of fungal community. The dominant fungi in the CL topsoil are Sordariomycetes (62. 28%), Dothideomycetes (12. 34%), and Eurotiomycetes (9. 12%); the dominant fungi in the MF soil are Sordariomycetes ( 45. 05%), Dothideomycetes ( 14. 74%), and Mortierellomycetes ( 10. 40%) ; the dominant fungi in the NF soil are unclassified fungal community (26. 38%), Sordariomycetes ( 19. 78%), and Agaricomycetes ( 13. 82%). Vegetation restoration has changed the key fungal groups in the soil. Sordariomycetes, Fwarium, and Setophoma are the key dominant fungal groups in CL soil; Dioszegia is key dominant fungal group in MF soil; c_unclassified_k_Fungi, p_unclassified_k_Fungi, o_unclassified_k_Fungi, f_unclassified_k_Fungi, g_unclassified_k_Fungi, Teichospora, and Diaporthe are key dominant fungal groups in NF soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Soil microbial communities are key to functional processes in terrestrial ecosystems, and they serve as an important indicator of grasslands status. However, the responses of soil microbial communities and functional potential to drought stress in semiarid alpine grasslands remain unclear. Methods: Here, a field experiment was conducted under ambient precipitation as a control, -20% and -40% of precipitation to explore the responses of soil microbial diversity, community composition, and predicted functional potential to drought stress in a semiarid alpine grassland located in the northwest of China. Moreover, 16S rRNA gene and ITS sequencing were used to detect bacterial and fungal communities, and the PICRUST and FUNGuild databases were used to predict bacterial and fungal functional groups. Results: Results showed drought stress substantially changes the community diversity of bacteria and fungi, among which the bacteria community is more sensitive to drought stress than fungi, indicating that the diversity or structure of soil bacteria community could serve as an indicator of alpine grasslands status. However, the fungal community still has difficulty maintaining resistance under excessive drought stress. Our paper also highlighted that soil moisture content, plant diversity (Shannon Wiener, Pieiou, and Simpson), and soil organic matter are the main drivers affecting soil bacterial and fungal community composition and predicted functional potential. Notably, the soil microbial functional potential could be predictable through taxonomic community profiles. Conclusions: Our research provides insight for exploring the mechanisms of microbial community composition and functional response to climate change (longer drought) in a semiarid alpine grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aims: Endophytic fungi are the remarkable category of host-associated fungal community that invades the intercellular regions of host tissues, benefiting their host while obtaining an advantage. Fungal endophytes have lately attracted prominence as a source of active secondary metabolites. This investigation aimed to identify fungal endophytes that reside inside the leaves and stems of Aquilaria malaccensis. Methodology and results: Healthy A. malaccensis stems and leaves samples were collected. Clean leaves and stems were cut to a size of 1 cm, followed by sterilization using 75% ethanol for 1 min, 3% sodium hypochlorite solution for 1 min, and finally, rinsing with sterile water 3 times for 1 min and drying with sterile paper. The sterile samples were put onto Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media containing chloramphenicol for 7-14 days until the mycelium grew for morphological identification under a light microscope. Five endophytic fungi were recovered from leaves, while nine endophytic fungi were obtained from stems. Using morphological approaches, nine of the endophytes had observed to produce conidia fungi, whereas the others did not. Neopestalotiopsis sp., Aspergillus sp., Arthrinium sp., Curvularia sp., Podospora sp., Mucor sp. and Verticillium sp. were identified as nine of the fourteen endophytes. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The number of endophytic fungi discovered in different organs varies. Not all endophytic fungi that grow can create sexual phages. Six genera of endophytic fungi were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Pesticide Science / Nongyaoxue Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Pesticide Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Science & Technology of Cereals, Oils & Foods is the property of Science & Technology of Cereals, Oils & Foods Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to quantify airborne fungal load in air-conditioned rooms and develop a health risk rating scale for different indoor environments. Five sampling locations in Kolkata frequented by a heterogeneous human population, containing various types of fungal growth-promoting substances (FGPS) like old documents, food items, waste hair, etc. were chosen as sampling locations where an Andersen Two-Stage Cascade Impactor was ran using Rose Bengal agar and Potato Dextrose agar media plates. Total spore load (CFU/m3), species diversity, species dominance, human exposure time, susceptible age and FGPS were considered the risk factors for this study. A risk rating scale was developed after evaluating the relative importance of these different factors in relation to human health. The most dominant genera were Aspergillus, followed by Penicillium. Maximum CFU was observed at library, followed by computer room. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of stable and mature compost often depends on the performance of microbes and their enzymatic activity. Environmental and nutritional conditions influence the characteristics of microbial communities and, therefore, the dynamics of major metabolic activities. Using three waste mixtures (textile waste mixed with either green, paper, or cardboard waste), the maturity of the compost produced was assessed by following the physico-chemical parameters and enzymatic activities provided by the microorganisms that were identified using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Among the three mixtures used, it was found that the two best mixtures showed C/N ratios of 16.30 and 16.96, total nitrogen of 1.37 and 1.39%, cellulase activities of 50.62 and 52.67 Ug−1, acid phosphatase activities of 38.81 and 68.77 Ug−1, and alkaline phosphatase activities of 51.12 and 56.86 Ug−1. In addition, several lignocellulosic species, together with those that are able to solubilize phosphate, were identified. Among those known for cellulase and acid/alkaline phosphatase activities, bacteria belonging to the Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes phyla were shown. The presence of species belonging to the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota phyla of Fungi, which are known for their ability to produce cellulase and acid/alkaline phosphatases, was demonstrated. These findings provide a basis for the production of stable and mature compost based on textile waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains results of mycological examinations conducted in the Wolin National Park from May to October 2017, and data previously unpublished. Exploration was carried out using the route method in the whole Park, with particular emphasis on its western part. The paper includes 205 taxa (25 from Ascomycota and 180 from Basidiomycota), including 32 new ones for the Wolin National Park. Among the identified taxa, 17 were threatened. The endangered species (Category E) were represented by Aleurodiscus disciformis, Calcipostia guttulata, and Geastrum triplex, the vulnerable species (V) included Inocybe grammata, Inocutis rheades, and Xylobolus frustulatus, and the rare species (R) consisted of 10 taxa, including Helvella lacunosa, Gloeoporus taxicola, Mycena crocata, Plicaturopsis crispa, and Pseudomerulius aureus. Some species are known only from a few sites in Poland, e.g., Hohenbuehelia auriscalpium and C. guttulata. Currently, the number of macromycetes species known from the Wolin National Park is 508. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] This paper was to figure out whether the dominant bacterial community has the role and effect of bacterial community and its defense mechanism against potential pathogenic fungi in Artemisia annua, and thus establish a systematic model of bacteria-fungus-plant. [Methods] Fifty-eight strains of bacteria and one strain of pathogenic fungi, Globisporangium ultimatum, were used for the experiments. These 58 bacterial strains were assembled into a bacterial community, and the bacteria with abundance in the top 1% were reassembled into a dominant bacterial community as measured by 16S rDNA. [Results] The growth of A. annua seedlings inoculated with bacterial communities and pathogenic fungi or dominant bacterial communities and pathogenic fungi was significantly better than that of A. annua seedlings inoculated with pathogenic fungi during in vitro confrontation, which was evident in both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant assays. [Conclusions] The results suggest that the dominant bacterial community has a crucial role as a representative core microbial community of synthetic bacterial community, which can protect plants by interfering with the growth of phytopathogenic fungi mediated by chemical signals, and can be used as the main synthetic community of biocides to achieve the effect of biocontrol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of biogas residue as a substrate on ginseng growth and its feasibility for ginseng cultivation are unclear. The present study used biogas residue at different concentrations and maturity levels to cultivate ginseng. The biological characteristics of ginseng, soil physiochemical indices, and ginseng and soil microbial communities were investigated. The results showed that with increasing ginseng content and maturity, the total fresh weight, total length and saponin content significantly increased. The enzyme activities of soil, NO3--N, and available phosphorus also increased. The microbiome analysis revealed that with the addition of biogas residue, microorganisms related to plant growth promotion, such as Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadota and Mortierellomycota, were more common in the plant or rhizosphere soil. The results based on the co-occurrence network showed that the structure of the bacterial community was more stable than that of the fungal community with increasing biogas residue content. Our results indicated that biogas residue could be used as a ginseng cultivation substrate and promote growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Medicinal leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) are fresh water ectoparasitic species which have been applied as traditional therapy. However, gut microbiota could bring high risks of opportunistic infections after leeching and arouses great interests. Here, gut bacterial and fungal communities of an Asian prevalent leech Poecilobdella manillensis were characterized and analysed through culture‐independent sequencing. Methods and Results: With high coverage in 18 samples (>0.999), a more complicated community was apparent after comparing with previous leech studies. A total of 779/939 OTUs of bacteria and fungi were detected from leech guts. The bacterial community was dominated by the phylum Bacteroidetes and Synergistetes. Genera Mucinivorans and Fretibacterium accounted mostly at the genus level, and genus Aeromonas showed an extremely low abundance (2.02%) on average. The fungal community was dominated by the phylum Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. At the genus level, the dominant OTUs included Mortierella, Geminibasidium and Fusarium. The analysis of core taxa included those above dominant genera and some low‐abundance genera (>1%). The functional annotation of the bacterial community showed a close correlation with metabolism (34.8 ± 0.6%). Some fungal species were predicted as opportunistic human pathogens including Fusarium and Chaetomiaceae. Conclusions: The present study provides fundamental rationales for further studies of such issues as bacteria‐fungi‐host interactions, host fitness, potential pathogens, and infecting risks after leeching. It shall facilitate in‐depth explorations on the safe utilization of leech therapy. Significance and Impact of Study: Present paper is the first‐ever exploration on microbiota of a prevalent Asian medicinal leech based on culture‐independent technical. And it is also the first report of gut fungi community of medicinal leech. The diversity and composition of bacteria in P. manillensis was far different from that of the European leech. The main components and core OTUs indicate a particular gut environment of medicinal leech. Unknown bacterial and fungal species were also recovered from leech gut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests acting as carbon storage and sequestration play an essential role in the global nutrient cycle, in which fungi are active participants. The forests cover almost all regions from the boreal, temperate to the subtropical and tropical forests. The relative proportion of carbon sequestrated in forest soil varies from approximately 85% of the terrestrial carbon pool in boreal forests to 60% in temperate forests and to 50% in tropical rainforests. Fungi as decomposers of organic matter and root-associated mediators of belowground carbon transport and respiration are the key drivers of the carbon cycle in forests. For example, saprophytic fungi can degrade soil organic matter to release carbon into the soil, whereas symbiotic fungi could form symbiosis with plants, through which plant and fungi can benefit each other with nutrient flow. Given the importance of fungi in the ecological environment, this paper summarizes the importance of soil fungi in terms of fungal diversity and function in forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Bieszczady Mts, a mountain range in SE Poland, is a hot spot of fungal richness and diversity in Poland. This paper summarizes 5 years of studies in the Bieszczady Mts, as well as previously published research. A total of 1,377 macromycetes taxa were found, including many (464) which were protected, red-listed, or very rare in Poland. Thirty-eight taxa (nine Ascomycota and 29 Basidiomycota) have been reported in Poland for the first time: Agrocybe gibberosa, Auriporia aurulenta, Bolbitius variicolor, Bulgariella pulla, Chaetosphaerella phaeostroma, Clitocybe subspadicea, Clitopilus passeckerianus, Cortinarius anomalus var. subcaligatus, C. fervidus, C. flexipes var. inolens, C. sylvae-norvegicae, Cudoniella tenuispora, Entoloma bisporigerum, E. olorinum, E. poliopus var. parvisporigerum, E. sericeoides, Galerina caulocystidiata, Gymnopilus josserandii, Hymenoscyphus subferrugineus, Hypholoma olivaceotinctum, Inocybe queletii, Laccaria altaica, Lactarius romagnesii, L. rostratus, Mycena epipterygia var. atroviscosa, M. epipterygia var. candida, M. polygramma f. candida, Octavianina lutea, O. mutabilis, Pachyella violaceonigra, Panaeolus papilionaceus var. capitatocystis, Phaeocollybia jennyae, Psathyrella almerensis, Pyrenopeziza inornata, Scutellinia torrentis, Tricholoma basirubens, Tricholomopsis flammula, and Vibrissea decolorans. For all new taxa, short descriptions based on the collected material have been provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruhlandiella is a genus of exothecial, ectomycorrhizal fungi in the order Pezizales. Ascomata of exothecial fungi typically lack a peridium and are covered with a hymenial layer instead. Ruhlandiella species have nonoperculate asci and highly ornamented ascospores. The genus was first described by Hennings in 1903 to include the single species, R. berolinensis. Since then, mycologists have uncovered Ruhlandiella species inmany locations around the globe, including Australia, Spain, Italy, and the USA. Currently, there are four recognized species: R. berolinensis, R. peregrina, R. reticulata, and R. truncata. Allwere found near Eucalyptus or Melaleuca trees of Australasian origin. Recently, we discovered two new species of Ruhlandiella in Nothofagaceae forests in South America. They regularly form mitotic spore mats directly on soil in the forests of Patagonia. Here, we formally describe these new species and construct the phylogeny of Ruhlandiella and related genera using a multilocus phylogenetic analysis. We also revise the taxonomy of Ruhlandiella and provide an identification key to accepted species of Ruhlandiella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation tillage is an advanced agricultural technology that seeks to minimize soil disturbance by reducing, or even eliminating tillage. Straw or stubble mulching in conservation tillage systems help to increase crop yield, maintain biodiversity and increase levels of exogenous nutrients, all of which may influence the structure of fungal communities in the soil. Currently, however, the assembly processes and co-occurrence patterns of fungal sub-communities remain unknown. In this paper, we investigated the effects of no-tillage and straw mulching on the composition, assembly process, and co-occurrence patterns of soil fungal sub-communities in a long-term experimental plot (15 years). The results revealed that combine straw mulching with no-tillage significantly increased the richness of fungi but not their diversity. Differential abundance analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that tillage management had a greater effect on the fungal communities of abundant and intermediate taxa than on the rare taxa. Available phosphorus (AP) and total nitrogen (TN) were the major determinants of fungal sub-communities in NT treatment. The abundant fungal sub-communities were assembled by deterministic processes under medium strength selection, while strong conservation tillage strength shifts the abundant sub-community assembly process from deterministic to stochastic. Overall, the investigation of the ecological network indicated that no-tillage and straw mulching practices decreased the complexity of the abundant and intermediate fungal networks, while not significantly influencing rare fungal networks. These findings refine our knowledge of the response of fungal sub-communities to conservation tillage management techniques and provide new insights into understanding fungal sub-community assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although fungi are regarded as very important components of soils, the knowledge of their community in agricultural (monocultural) soils is still limited. This indicates that soil fungal communities are investigated less intensively than bacteria. Therefore, the main goal of this paper was to evaluate the fungal mycobiome structure in monoculture soils in a culture-independent approach. Firstly, the study was conducted to identify the core mycobiome composition and its variability at different stages of the maize growing season (spring, summer, and autumn). Secondly, we identified and recommended fungal indicators of both sensitivity and resistance to long-term maize monoculture. Two neighboring fields from the Potulicka Foundation area were selected for the study: K20 sown with a Gorzow mixture (intercropping mixture) to improve soil quality after a maize monoculture in 2020 and K21, where long-term (over 30 years) monoculture cultivation was continued. The basic chemical features [acidity, redox potential, total organic carbon (TOC), and moisture] of soils were determined, fungal genetic diversity was assessed by ITS next generation sequencing (NGS) analyses, and biodiversity indices were calculated. The results of the NGS technique facilitated recognition and classification of the fungal mycobiome to the taxonomic genus level and changes in the fungal structure in the three periods (spring, summer, and autumn) were assessed. It was evidenced that the mycobiome composition was dependent on both the seasons and the agricultural practices. It was also found that even a 1-year break in the monoculture in favor of an intercropping mixture improved soil properties thus contributing to higher biodiversity. Mortierella was recommended as a potential indicator of sensitivity to long-term maize cultivation, whereas Solicoccozyma and Exophiala were proposed as indicators of resistance to long-term maize cultivation. We proved that the precision farming principles applied on the Potulicka Foundation farm had a very positive effect on fungal biodiversity, which was high even in the long-term maize monoculture field. Therefore, the monoculture cultivation carried out in this way does not induce biological degradation of monoculture soils but preserves their good biological quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stacking fermentation process plays a vital role in the production of sauce-flavour baijiu. The aim of this paper is to elucidate the effects of environmental variables on the fungal communities of different layers of fermented grains (zaopei) during the sixth round of stacking and the changes in volatile flavour substances during this process. The composition of the fungal communities in different layers during the stacking fermentation process was analysed. Principal coordinate analysis (pCoA) showed that the dominant fungal communities in different layers differed significantly with the stacking fermentation process. The dominant fungal genera were Thermoascus , Thermomyces and Issatchenkia. The total content of flavouring substances in the surface layer of zaopei were higher, but the types of flavouring substances were less than in the inner layer. The relationship between temperature, moisture content, acidity, starch content and reducing sugar content and microbial community was analysed by Redundancy analysis. The results showed that the correlation between microbial communities and physicochemical indexes in different layers of zaopei varied. The core fungal genera in the surface layer were mainly influenced by acidity, and the microorganisms in the inner layer were more strongly correlated with temperature. Spearman correlation coefficient revealed the correlation between fungal community and volatile flavour substances, and the results showed that microorganisms in different layers of zaopei have different correlations with flavour substances. This study contributes to the understanding of the evolution of different layers fungal communities during the stacking of sauce-flavour baijiu and their relationship with volatile aroma substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] The purpose of the paper is to explore the impact of biochar on the population structure, diversity and ecological function of fungi in long-term rhizosphere soil and provide insights for improving the microecological environment of tobacco rhizosphere soil and biochar application in tobacco planting soils. [ Method] In the study,' Honghuadajinyuan' tobacco was utilized as the test material. Under the premise of reducing the fertilizer amount by 10%, 250 g/plant ( A1 ), 300 g/plant ( A2) and 350 g/plant ( A3) of bio-carbon fertilizer were applied, with conventional fertilizer used as the control. Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was employed to determine the rhizosphere soil microorganisms of tobacco plants subjected to these different treatments. [ Result] The application of biochar fertilizer had a significant impact on soil c, diversity and population structure, with A3 treatment demonstrating the highest fungal diversity and abundance among all soil samples. At the phylum level, there was a negative correlation between the relative abundance of Ascomycota and the amount of biochar fertilizer applied, while the relative abundance of Basidiomycota exhibited a positive correlation with the quantity of biochar fertilizer application, both of which were the primary dominant bacteria fungi in each treatment. At the genus level, the application of biochar fertilizer led to a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Penicillium, Cladophialophora, and Clonostachys, while significantly increased the relative abundance of Fusarium, Saitozyma, Conocybe. Addtionally, using FUN Guild for fungal function prediction, it was observed that the functional types of rhizosphere soil fungi in each sample were primarily saprophytic and saprophytic-symbiotic. Furthermore, the relative abundance of plant pathogen in soil samples with biochar fertilizer was lower compared to the control group. [ Conclusion] The study shows that the A3 treatment improves the fungal community structure in the rhizosphere soil of tobacco plants, which is more conducive to maintaining the balance of soil ecosystem and restoring soil quality. It can provide technical reference for rational application of biochar fertilizer in tobacco planting areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digging animals perform many ecosystem functions, including soil turnover and vectoring fungi, particularly mycorrhizal fungi. However, these animals are also susceptible to the impacts of urbanisation, resulting in altered ecosystem processes. Some digging mammals, such as the omnivorous quenda (Isoodon fusciventer), a medium-sized marsupial bandicoot endemic to southwestern Australia, persist in urban landscapes and may play important roles as fungal vectors. This paper examines the fungal community in quenda scats from natural vegetation remnants within a fragmented urban landscape to ask: are quenda acting as vectors for a functionally diverse fungal community?; what fungal functional types are being vectored?; and does remnant size impact fungal species richness and composition vectored by quenda? We sequenced 53 scat samples collected from remnants and found that quenda disperse a functionally diverse fungal community, with 31% of the molecular operational taxonomic units (OTUs) putatively mycorrhizal. Fungal OTU richness was greatest in scats from smaller remnants due to higher mean relative abundance of saprotrophs, pathogens and yeasts. Fungal OTU richness of ectomycorrhizal fungi, critical for plant growth, were found at a higher abundance in larger remnants. Fungal composition was affected by remnant size, type and condition of vegetation, and soil type. Our results indicate that maintaining digging mammal populations within urban landscapes may assist with dispersal of fungi that facilitate fungal-plant interactions, contributing to ecosystem health. These results are important to understand the complex ecological implications of urbanisation, and how remaining mammals are critical in maintaining ecosystem processes within the urban land-use matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial deterioration accounts for a significant percentage of the degradation processes that occur on archeological/historical objects and artworks, and identifying the causative agents of such a phenomenon should therefore be a priority, in consideration of the need to conserve these important cultural heritage items. Diverse microbiological approaches, such as microscopic evaluations, cultural methods, metabolic- and DNA-based techniques, as well as a combination of the aforementioned methods, have been employed to characterize the bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities that colonize art objects. The purpose of the present review article is to report the interactions occurring between the microorganisms and nutrients that are present in stones, bones, wood, paper, films, paintings, and modern art specimens (namely, collagen, cellulose, gelatin, albumin, lipids, and hydrocarbons). Some examples, which underline that a good knowledge of these interactions is essential to obtain an in depth understanding of the factors that favor colonization, are reported. These data can be exploited both to prevent damage and to obtain information on historical aspects that can be decrypted through the study of microbial population successions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]