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Impact of Salinity Stress on Growth and Development of Aquatic Fungi

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Microorganisms in Saline Environments: Strategies and Functions

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 56))

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Abstract

In most ecosystems salinity shapes biotic assemblages, representing a key environmental factor. This variable is regarded as a major threat to microbial communities in terrestrial systems, modifying considerably a number of important ecosystem processes, including turnover of organic matter and nutrients acquisition. However, complex effects of salinity remain poorly understood, especially for non-model aquatic microbial assemblages, which account for most of the biodiversity in natural systems. Aquatic fungi are a widespread and phylogenetically heterogeneous group of microorganisms, occurring in marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems. These osmotrophs are completely adapted to rapidly colonize, grow, and reproduce in aquatic systems, where salinity represents a frequently fluctuating environmental variable. Some investigations have approached aquatic fungal response to salinity, suggesting that despite these microorganisms are able to survive under osmotic stress conditions, this variable may select for distinctive community compositions. At large, fungal responses to salinity stress are determined by taxon-specific underlying physiological traits, leading to distinctive tolerance thresholds. Herein, we review the impact of salinity on growth and development of aquatic fungi, integrating literature reports on marine and freshwater species, and recent advances introducing molecular techniques to provide better understanding of the phenomenon of aquatic fungal salinity tolerance.

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  1. Department of Botany, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Patricia Velez

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  1. Department of Botany, Swami Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Bhoopander Giri

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Velez, P. (2019). Impact of Salinity Stress on Growth and Development of Aquatic Fungi. In: Giri, B., Varma, A. (eds) Microorganisms in Saline Environments: Strategies and Functions. Soil Biology, vol 56. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18975-4_7

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