Marine Fungi

This study was originally submitted as a dissertation for the doctoral degree in Marine Sciences for the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. It was subdivided into eleven chapters and two appendixes, which treated a number of biological aspects of the coastal, marine, and estuarine mycology of the Puerto Rican archipelago.  Field and laboratory surveys were carried out.  It has been summarized the history of marine mycology in Puerto Rico, a checklist of all the known fungi species, and general ecological aspects in beaches, mangroves, and estuarine environments.  Some fungal species might be useful for bioremediation.  For example, two species of Cladosporium were isolated from seawater based on their ability to use the polyaromatic hydrocarbons naphthalene and phenanthrene as a sole carbon and energy source.  Also a bibliography on coastal and marine biology primarily mycological in orientation is presented.

Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) is commercially obtained from marine fish. The need for DHA as food supplement, with an increasing human population, cannot satisfy the world’s requirements of DHA for healthy food. The objective of this review is to discuss Schizochytrium, one of microalgae which is rich DHA, as one of the best candidate producer for sustainable and affordable of DHA. Heterotrophic microalgae especially genus Schizochytrium, produces omega-3 fatty acids up to 40% in total unsaturated fatty acids.  Cultivation of these microalgae is easy, because sun light for energy source is not requirement. Previous publication showed that several local strains Schizochytrium have been isolated from mangrove area in Indonesia. We expected that the strains can be developed in to mass production of DHA

Index Fungorum, Species Fungorum and MycoBank are the key fungal nomenclature and taxonomic databases that can be sourced to find taxonomic details concerning fungi, while DNA sequence data can be sourced from the NCBI, EBI and UNITE databases. Nomenclature and ecological data on freshwater fungi can be accessed on http://fungi.life.illinois.edu/, while http://www.marinespecies.org/provides a comprehensive list of names of marine organisms, including information on their synonymy. Previous websites however have little information on marine fungi and their ecology, beside articles that deal with marine fungi, especially those published in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries may not be accessible to those working in third world countries. To address this problem, a new website www.marinefungi.org was set up and is introduced in this paper. This website provides a search facility to genera of marine fungi, full species descriptions, key to species and illustrations, an up to date classification of all recorded marine fungi which includes all fungal groups (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Mucoromycota and fungus-like organisms e.g. Thraustochytriales), and listing recent publications. Currently, 1257 species are listed in the marine fungi website (www. marinefungi.org), in 539 genera, 74 orders, 168 families, 20 classes and five phyla, with new taxa continuing to be described. The website has curators with specialist mycological expertise who help to provide update data on the classification of marine fungi. This article also reviews knowledge of marine fungi covering a wide range of topics: their higher classification, ecology and world distribution, role in energy transfer in the oceans, origin and new chemical structures. An updated classification of marine fungi is also included. We would like to invite all mycologists to contribute to this innovative website.

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles has been carried out by using the cell free filtrate of marine sediment
fungal species of Southern peninsular coastal region of India and identified based on the sequence
analysis of Internal Transcribed Spacer region of rRNA genes. Species were identified as Aspergillus flavus
SP-3, Trichoderma gamsii SP-4, Talaromyces flavus SP-5, and Aspergillus oryzae SP-6. The phylogenetic
relationship between the fungal isolates and other fungal strains was compared. Treatment of silver
nitrate with the fungal extract produced stable, predominant, monodispersed and spherical silver
nanoparticles. Preliminary characterization revealed that the nano-particles were in the range of
20–60 nm in all the fungal isolates. Among all the fungi the silver nano-particles of T. gamsii SP-4
showed an enhanced antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria, Gram negative bacteria and
fungi pathogens; an anti-oxidant activity at an effective concentration of 99 mg/ml; and a dose
dependent cytotoxic activity against HEp2 cell lines at LC50 value of 23 mg/ml. Thus, the strains, SP3,
SP4, SP5, and SP6 could be used for simple, non-hazardous and efficient synthesis of antimicrobial and
HEp2 cytotoxic silver nano-particles.

The occurrence and bioactivities of marine-derived fungi are evaluated in this paper. A total of 16 morphospecies of marine-derived fungi (MDF) were isolated from four host macroalgae and two seagrasses and identified as belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Sclerotinia, Thamnidium and Trichoderma, including five mycelia sterilia. Among these host organisms, the rhodophyte Laurencia intermedia harboured the highest number of isolated MDF. Selected MDF were then assayed and showed to inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8-19 mm zone of inhibition) and Staphylococcus aureus (6-19 mm zone of inhibition), and were cytotoxic against the brine shrimp Artemia salina nauplii (LD 50 : 201.56-948.37 µg mL-1). The screening led to the selection of five of the most bioactive morphospecies, all belonging to the genus Aspergillus. These marine aspergilli were subjected to β-tubulin gene sequence analysis for species identification, and to mass production in different culture media with or without marine salts, and screening of the crude culture extracts for their cytotoxic and trypanocidal activities. Aspergillus tubingensis cultivated in potato dextrose broth with marine salt proved to be the most cytotoxic against P388 (IC 50 : 1028 ng mL-1) and HeLa (IC 50 : 1301 ng mL-1) cancer cells. On the other hand, A. fumigatus cultivated in malt extract broth without marine salt was shown to be the most potent against Trypanosoma congolense (IC 50 : 298.18 ng mL-1). Our study therefore showed that salinity may influence the bioactivities of some species of MDF.

Metabolites from marine fungi have hogged the limelight in drug discovery because of their promise as therapeutic agents. A number of metabolites related to marine fungi have been discovered from various sources which are known to possess a range of activities as antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer agents. Although, over a thousand marine fungi based metabolites have already been reported, none of them have reached the market yet which could partly be related to non-comprehensive screening approaches and lack of sustained lead optimization. The origin of these marine fungal metabolites is varied as their habitats have been reported from various sources such as sponge, algae, mangrove derived fungi, and fungi from bottom sediments. The importance of these natural compounds is based on their cytotoxicity and related activities that emanate from the diversity in their chemical structures and functional groups present on them. This review covers the majority of anticancer compounds isolated from marine fungi during 2012–2016 against specific cancer cell lines.

Homo-dimeric alkaloids produced by fungi, lichenized fungi and fungal endophytes are a structurally unique class of natural products with extensive biological activities that are presented in this article. More than 100 selected fungal metabolites have been confirmed to exhibit antitumor, antimicrobial, antibacterial, and other activities

Research on the potential of ethyl acetate extracts from symbiotic fungi of marine sponge Neopetrosia chaliniformis AR-01 as producer of cytotoxic and antibacterial compounds has been conducted. Symbiotic fungi of N. chaliniformis were isolated by casting method using Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and purified by the scratch method. Pure isolated fungi then was cultivated using rice as media at temperature of 25-27 ° C for 4-8 weeks and extracted using ethyl acetate solvent. The ethyl acetate extracts were tested as cytotoxic using Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT) and tested as an antibacterial against pathogenic bacteria of Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhosa) using agar diffusion method. There are 13 symbiotic fungi of marine sponge N. chaliniformis that had been isolated. The screening result of the cytotoxic activity showed that 76.92 % or 10 fungi isolates were classified as cytotoxic with LC50 <100 ppm, namely NC01, NC02, NC03, NC05, NC06, NC07, NC08, NC09, NC10, and NC11. The results of the antibacterial activity screening showed that 5 isolates namely NC01, NC03, NC04 NC07 and NC10 could inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria by diameter of inhibition zone > 10 mm. Based on the screening results, it can be concluded that ethyl acetate extracts of the symbiotic fungi of marine sponge N. chaliniformis are a potential source for producing anticancer and antibacterial compounds.

The results of the present study revealed that the vegetative growth and
sporulation of fungi isolated from freshwater habitat were varied according to
fungal species and the used NaCl concentrations.
The tow zygomycetes Rhizopus stolonifer and Absidia coerulea produced a
high (59 mm , 54 mm for each respectively) vegetative growth in all NaCl
concen-trations in comparision with other fungi , whereas Chaetomium sp.
produced a low vegetative growth (9 mm) followed by Emericilla nidulans ( 11
mm) . All tested fungi showed a high vegetative growth in 1 % (60 mm) and 5 %
(58mm) NaCl , whereas it`s growth was weak ( 20 mm , 32 mm for each
consequantly ) at 0 and 3 % NaCl.
The two fungi Bipolaris hawaiinesis and B.spicifera showed an optimum
sporulation( more than 3000 spores / ml) in the media supplemented with 0.25%,
0.5% and 1.0% NaCl ,Whereas Ascomycetes fungi were never sporulated in any of
the test solutions .

Sponge-associated fungi are the least explored marine fungal groups. It is only in recent years that fungal symbionts of marine sponges have received attention mainly due to the isolation of bioactive metabolites while not much attention was given to their specificity, biogeography and exact roles in marine sponges. The diversity of fungi associated with mangrove sponges (Axinella sp., Halichondria cf. panicea, Haliclona sp., Tedania sp.) collected from New Washington, Aklan, Philippines were investigated using morphological observation. A total of 110 species of sponge-associated fungi belonging to 22 genera of ascomycetes with 18 genera of asexual morphs whose sexual stage is unknown, 2 genera of basidiomycetes, 21 morphospecies of Mycelia sterilia, 1 unidentified yeast species and 11 unidentified hyphomycetes were isolated from four species of mangrove sponges. This is the first study that explored the diversity and ecology of sponge-associated fungi in mangrove habitats from the...

Natural products isolated from microorganisms from Brazil are comprehensively reviewed, including the microbial sources, bioactivities and biosynthesis. Analysis of trends related to the research on microbial natural products in Brazil is discussed in detail. An outlook to future perspectives of research in Brazil is presented considering the development of state-of-the-art strategies and approaches that have emerged during the last decade, aiming to investigate and better understand the microbial world and its chemical and biochemical capabilities. Finally, the importance of microbial natural products biodiscovery is discussed in the context of the BIOTA-FAPESP program in Brazil.

The asymmetric reduction of 2-chloro-1-phenylethanone (1) by seven strains of marine fungi was evaluated and afforded (S)-(-)-2-chloro-1-phenylethanol with, in the best case, an enantiomeric excess of 50% and an isolated yield of 60%. The ability of marine fungi to catalyse the reduction was directly dependent on growth in artificial sea water-based medium containing a high concentration of Cl(-) (1.2 M). When fungi were grown in the absence of artificial sea water, no reduction of 1 by whole cells was observed. The biocatalytic reduction of 1 was more efficient at neutral rather than acidic pH values and in the absence of glucose as co-substrate.

The fungal endophyte Haloguignardia irritans induces gall formation on the brown algal genera Cystoseira and Halidrys occurring from Oregon to Baja California, Mexico. Here we examine genetic covariation and compare rDNA phylogenies to investigate the coevolutionary histories of H. irritans and its algal hosts. Despite recognition of H. irritans as a single morphological species, internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequences representative

Epicoccum nigrum (strain LQRA39-P) was isolated from sediments collected in Chilean Patagonian fjords using microscopy and molecular techniques. We analyzed adaptive responses of cell wall morphology to salinity, temperature, and pH in order to explain the ability of E. nigrum to co-inhabit both marine and freshwater environments. For this purpose, E. nigrum was cultured in a series of media with variations in salinity (freshwater and seawater), pH (acidic, neutral, and basic), and temperature (5 to 25 °C). Changes were observed through transmission electron microscopy. A direct correlation between increased salinity and cell wall thickening (> 0.2 μm) was observed, along with a significant relationship between pH and the presence of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the outside of the cell wall. The observed morphological changes could confirm that an ubiquitous fungus such as E. nigrum requires adaptive responses to co-inhabit freshwater, marine, and terrestrial substrates.

Se reconocen aspectos generales acerca de algunas micosis (enfermedades fúngicas) en mamíferos marinos.  Los hongos como los mohos acuáticos y los microhongos mitospóricos son los más comunes como agentes etiológicos en mamíferos marinos así como en otras especies acuáticas.  Existen condiciones más serias como por ejemplo la coccidioidomicosis, que pudiera ser una verdadera amenaza a la existencia de estos mamíferos.  Los casos aquí reseñados provienen de la literatura micológica.

Climate change is affecting marine environments all over the world but scientists&#x27; attention is mainly devoted to tropical areas. In the Mediterranean Sea, species with a cold affinity are decreasing very fast from 0 to 40 m depth, while warm water species increase. From 2000, ...

Achyranthes aspera is a herb in amaranthaceae family, traditionally used in treatment of several diseases (, scabies and other skin diseases. and fever etc). The present study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial activities of the methanolic extract and to investigate phytochemical profile of aqueous extract of vegetative parts of Achyranthes aspera. The methanol extracts were screened for antifungal activity against four fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria solani, Athelia rolfsii and Rhizoctonia solani by food poisoning method. The extracts of fresh Achyranthes aspera showed a significant and remarkable activity against all these four fungal species when compared to standard. The observed IC 50 values for these funguses are 43.75µg/ml for Fusarium oxysporum, 27.5µg/ml for Alternaria spp., 19.37µg/ml for Sclerotium rolfsii. And 18.75µg/ml for Rhizoctonia solani. The phytochemical screening of the aqueous extract indicates that the fresh plant contain tannin, phlobatanni...

Achyranthes aspera is a herb in amaranthaceae family, traditionally used in treatment of several diseases (, scabies and other skin diseases. and fever etc). The present study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial activities of the methanolic extract and to investigate phytochemical profile of aqueous extract of vegetative parts of Achyranthes aspera. The methanol extracts were screened for antifungal activity against four fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria solani, Athelia rolfsii and Rhizoctonia solani by food poisoning method. The extracts of fresh Achyranthes aspera showed a significant and remarkable activity against all these four fungal species when compared to standard. The observed IC 50 values for these funguses are 43.75µg/ml for Fusarium oxysporum, 27.5µg/ml for Alternaria spp., 19.37µg/ml for Sclerotium rolfsii. And 18.75µg/ml for Rhizoctonia solani. The phytochemical screening of the aqueous extract indicates that the fresh plant contain tannin, phlobatanni...