[Screening of yeast-producers of melanin in the Antarctic terrestrial biotopes]

Now it is considered, that melanin is promising for application in medicine and pharmacology. Since black yeast were found in polar regions before, we have carried out screening of yeast-producers of melanin in the Antarctic biotopes. Dark pigmented microorganisms are revealed in 30% of samples from terrestrial biotopes at the western coast of the Antarctic peninsula, on islands of the Argentina archipelago (Galindez, Skua, Corner, Barchans, Irizar, Uruguay, Cruls, Three little pigs, King-George), and also on the neighbouring islands Petermann, Jalour, Berthelot, Darboux and Lippmann. In the Antarctic lichens the occurrence frequency of dark pigmented microorganisms, their total number and biodiversity are significantly higher, than in other Antarctic biotopes. Coal-black yeast are found on the crustose and bushy lichens on vertical rocks, they occur less often in soil, their quantity made 1 x 10(2) - 6 x 10(3)/g of a sample. Coal-black pigments were isolated from two Antarctic strains of yeast. These pigments are identical to melanin according to a complex of specific chemical tests, that is also confirmed by the character of UV-spectra (220-230 nm) and absorption spectra in the visible area (400-800 nm). The output of synthesized pigment/g in strain 36 made more than 10% of biomass amount. So, the yeast synthesizing intensively melanin are revealed in the Antarctic terrestrial biotopes.