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Similarity in growth response of Aspergillus terreus isolates under mimic hydrothermal vent conditions suggests no physiological growth barrier between terrestrial and marine environments

  • Sheng-Yu Guo

    Sheng-Yu Guo obtained her MSc at National Taiwan Ocean University studying phylogeny of marine fungi under the supervision of Prof. Ka-Lai Pang. She is now a PhD student studying the diversity of aquatic Chytridiomycota and allied taxa in Taiwan.

     ORCID logo     , Michael W.L. Chiang

    Michael W.L. Chiang obtained his MPhil degree from the City University of Hong Kong in 2002 and is currently a technical officer in the Department of Chemistry of the same university. His technical expertise lies in biological electron microscopy and ecotoxicology.

     ORCID logo     , Wan-Rou Lin ORCID logo , Sung-Yuan Hsieh , Thossaporn Phatthongkleang

    Thossaporn Phatthongkleang obtained her MSc at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand studying microbial biotechnology in marine ecosystem. She is now a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Ka-Lai Pang, studying the distribution and diversity of aquatic Chytridiomycota in Taiwan.

     ORCID logo     , E.B. Gareth Jones

    E.B. Gareth Jones currently holds the Distinguished Scientist Fellowship (DSFP), at the King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is a highly cited scientist. His research interests are marine mycology, ecology and fungal systematics, and marine archeology. Supervised over 100 PhD/MSc students, he has published 650 papers and edited volumes on Marine Fungi (2012) and Freshwater Fungi (2014). He is a senior curator of the website www.marinefungi.org.

     ORCID logo     and Ka-Lai Pang

    Ka-Lai Pang obtained his BSc and PhD degrees from the City University of Hong Kong in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Prof. Pang studies the biology of marine fungi and fungus-like organisms and endophytic fungi associated with mangrove plants and macroalgae.

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Published/Copyright: February 18, 2025
Botanica Marina
From the journal Botanica Marina Volume 68 Issue 2

Abstract

This study investigated the phylogeny of 17 isolates of Aspergillus terreus, cultured from soil, macroalgae, hydrothermal vent sediment in terrestrial and marine environments, and their growth response under combined effect of sea salt concentration (0 g l−1 or 30 g l−1), temperature (25 °C or 45 °C), pH (3 or 7). The isolates did not form clades corresponding to their ecological origin based on a combined phylogenetic analysis of five DNA regions (internal transcribed spacers of ribosomal DNA, calmodulin, β-tubulin, elongation factor 1-α, RNA-polymerase second large subunit). All isolates were able to grow under all tested conditions, including 45 °C/pH 3, environmental conditions possible at a hydrothermal vent site. The growth rate of the isolates was generally higher at 25 °C than at 45 °C and at pH 7 than at pH 3, and was similar at 0 g l−1 and 30 g l−1 sea salt concentrations. These results collectively suggest that the ocean is a sink of both marine and terrestrial isolates of A. terreus, which has the physiological and genetic capacities to grow in both environments.

Keywords: fungal ecology; fungal physiology; life under water; marine fungi; phylogeny
Corresponding author: Ka-Lai Pang, Institute of Marine Biology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, 2 Pei-Ning Road, Keelung 202301, Taiwan, E-mail:

Funding source: National Science and Technology Council

Award Identifier / Grant number: NSTC 110-2621-M-019-002-

Award Identifier / Grant number: NSTC 111-2621-M-019-002-

Award Identifier / Grant number: NSTC 112-2621-M-019-003-

About the authors

Sheng-Yu Guo

Sheng-Yu Guo obtained her MSc at National Taiwan Ocean University studying phylogeny of marine fungi under the supervision of Prof. Ka-Lai Pang. She is now a PhD student studying the diversity of aquatic Chytridiomycota and allied taxa in Taiwan.

Michael W.L. Chiang

Michael W.L. Chiang obtained his MPhil degree from the City University of Hong Kong in 2002 and is currently a technical officer in the Department of Chemistry of the same university. His technical expertise lies in biological electron microscopy and ecotoxicology.

Thossaporn Phatthongkleang

Thossaporn Phatthongkleang obtained her MSc at Prince of Songkla University, Thailand studying microbial biotechnology in marine ecosystem. She is now a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Ka-Lai Pang, studying the distribution and diversity of aquatic Chytridiomycota in Taiwan.

E.B. Gareth Jones

E.B. Gareth Jones currently holds the Distinguished Scientist Fellowship (DSFP), at the King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is a highly cited scientist. His research interests are marine mycology, ecology and fungal systematics, and marine archeology. Supervised over 100 PhD/MSc students, he has published 650 papers and edited volumes on Marine Fungi (2012) and Freshwater Fungi (2014). He is a senior curator of the website www.marinefungi.org.

Ka-Lai Pang

Ka-Lai Pang obtained his BSc and PhD degrees from the City University of Hong Kong in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Prof. Pang studies the biology of marine fungi and fungus-like organisms and endophytic fungi associated with mangrove plants and macroalgae.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflicts of interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

  6. Research funding: Ka-Lai Pang acknowledges the continuous financial support from the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (NSTC 110-2621-M-019-002-, NSTC 111-2621-M-019-002-, NSTC 112-2621-M-019-003-).

  7. Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2024-08-26
Accepted: 2025-01-15
Published Online: 2025-02-18
Published in Print: 2025-04-28

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
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  5. The benthic marine algae of the Maldives: historical insights into their diversity and distribution
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https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2024-0070
Keywords for this article
fungal ecology; fungal physiology; life under water; marine fungi; phylogeny

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
  3. Physiology and Ecology
  4. Influence of mesoscale eddies on the spring phytoplankton groups in the Southern Gulf of Mexico
  5. The benthic marine algae of the Maldives: historical insights into their diversity and distribution
  6. Growth rates, standing stocks, and estimates of net primary production for the kelps Agarum clathratum, Hedophyllum nigripes, and Eualaria fistulosa (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) in Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet, Alaska
  7. Similarity in growth response of Aspergillus terreus isolates under mimic hydrothermal vent conditions suggests no physiological growth barrier between terrestrial and marine environments
  8. Taxonomy/Phylogeny and Biogeography
  9. Paraloratospora edkuensis sp. nov. (Ascomycota, Phaeosphaeriaceae) from the brackish Lake Edku, Egypt
  10. Morphological and molecular characterization of Kareniaceae (Dinophyceae, Gymnodiniales) in Kuwait’s waters
  11. Chemistry and Applications
  12. Exploration of the in-vitro antibacterial-antioxidant potentials and GC-MS metabolite profiling of seaweeds from the southwest coast of India
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