title: Nutritional physiology of a rock-inhabiting, model microcolonial fungus from an ancestral lineage of the Chaetothyriales (Ascomycetes).
abstract: Rock-inhabiting black fungi [also microcolonial or meristematic fungi (MCF)] are a phylogenetically diverse group of melanised ascomycetes with distinctive morphological features that confer extensive stress tolerance and permit survival in hostile environments. The MCF strain A95 Knufia petricola (syn. Sarcinomyces petricola) belongs to an ancestral lineage of the order Chaetothyriales (class Eurotiomycetes). K. petricola strain A95 is a rock-inhabiting MCF and its growth requirements were studied using the 96-well plate-based Biolog System under ∼1070 different conditions (osmotic stress, pH growth optima, growth factor requirements and nutrient catabolism). A95 is an osmotolerant, oligotrophic MCF that grows best around pH 5. Remarkably, A95 shows metabolic activity in the absence of added nitrogen, phosphorus or sulphur. Correlations could be drawn between the known nutrient requirements of A95 and what probably is available in sub-aerial systems (rock and other material surfaces). Detailed knowledge of A95's metabolic requirements allowed formulation of a synthetic medium that supports strong fungal growth.
authors.affiliation: Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und - prüfung BAM, Department 4 Materials & Environment, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nai
authors.forename: Helen Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pannenbecker
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Broughton
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Benoit
authors.forename: Ronald P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gueidan
authors.forename: Anna A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gorbushina
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013455:Sulfur / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D010758:Phosphorus; D013455:Sulfur; D009584:Nitrogen