The effects of temperature on growth of four high Arctic soil fungi in a three-phase system

The effect of temperature on the growth of Chrysosporium pannorum, Cylindrocarpon sp., Penicillium janthinellum, and Phoma herbarum, isolated from tundra soils, was studied. The growth in two systems, glucose-mineral agar plates and sand, moistened with glucose-mineral broth, was compared. All isolates showed an exponential increase in mass (measured as protein increase) in sand and a linear rate of extension on agar. Radial increase on agar was shown not to be a good index of growth in sand. Trends in growth rates in the sand cultures indicated that all four fungi can grow at low temperatures. The growth rate for Penicillium janthinellum at 15 degrees C was higher than at 20 degrees C, and Cylindrocarpon sp. and Phoma herbarum had higher growth rates at 2.5 degrees C than at 5 degrees C. These data suggest that there may be some adaptation by these fungi to growth in Arctic regions.