Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Removal of Exogenous Materials from the Outer Portion of Frozen Cores to Investigate the Ancient Biological Communities Harbored Inside
Published on: July 3, 2016
Ancient fungi in Antarctic permafrost environments
Galina Kochkina1, Natalya Ivanushkina, Svetlana Ozerskaya
1All-Russian Collection of Microorganisms (VKM), G K Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia. gak@dol.ru
Abstract:
Filamentous fungi in 36 samples of Antarctic permafrost sediments were studied. The samples collected during the Russian Antarctic expedition of 2007-2009 within the framework of the Antarctic Permafrost Age Project (ANTPAGE) were recovered from different depths in ice-free oases located along the perimeter of the continent. Fungal diversity was determined by conventional microbiological techniques combined with a culture-independent method based on the analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) sequences in total DNA of the samples. The study revealed a rather low fungal population density in permafrost, although the diversity found was appreciable, representing more than 26 genera. Comparison of the data obtained by different techniques showed that the culture-independent method enabled the detection of ascomycetous and basidiomycetous fungi not found by culturing. The molecular method failed to detect members of the genera Penicillium and Cladosporium that possess small-sized spores known to have a high resistance to environmental changes.
More Related Videos
07:00Microbiota of Attine Ants' Gardens: Visualizing a Microbial Landscape by Scanning Electron Microscopy
Published on: October 4, 2024
14:38Establishment of Microbial Eukaryotic Enrichment Cultures from a Chemically Stratified Antarctic Lake and Assessment of Carbon Fixation Potential
Published on: April 20, 2012
Related Concept Videos
Microbes and Climate Change
Diversity of Archaea I
Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Temperature
Diversity of Archaea III
Green Algae
Fungal Group Zygomycota