title: Terrestrial Macrofungal Diversity from the Tropical Dry Evergreen Biome of Southern India and Its Potential Role in Aerobiology.
abstract: Macrofungi have long been investigated for various scientific purposes including their food and medicinal characteristics. Their role in aerobiology as a fraction of the primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs), however, has been poorly studied. In this study, we present a source of macrofungi with two different but interdependent objectives: (i) to characterize the macrofungi from a tropical dry evergreen biome in southern India using advanced molecular techniques to enrich the database from this region, and (ii) to assess whether identified species of macrofungi are a potential source of atmospheric PBAPs. From the DNA analysis, we report the diversity of the terrestrial macrofungi from a tropical dry evergreen biome robustly supported by the statistical analyses for diversity conclusions. A total of 113 macrofungal species belonging to 54 genera and 23 families were recorded, with Basidiomycota and Ascomycota constituting 96% and 4% of the species, respectively. The highest species richness was found in the family Agaricaceae (25.3%) followed by Polyporaceae (15.3%) and Marasmiaceae (10.8%). The difference in the distribution of commonly observed macrofungal families over this location was compared with other locations in India (Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and West Bengal) using two statistical tests. The distributions of the terrestrial macrofungi were distinctly different in each ecosystem. We further attempted to demonstrate the potential role of terrestrial macrofungi as a source of PBAPs in ambient air. In our opinion, the findings from this ecosystem of India will enhance our understanding of the distribution, diversity, ecology, and biological prospects of terrestrial macrofungi as well as their potential to contribute to airborne fungal aerosols.
authors.affiliation: EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Hema
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Priyamvada
authors.affiliation: EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akila
authors.affiliation: EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Raj Kamal
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ravikrishna
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.affiliation: EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Ligy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.affiliation: Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Marathe
authors.affiliation: Physical Research Laboratory, Navarangpura, Ahmedabad, India.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sahu
authors.affiliation: EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Sudheer
authors.affiliation: EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Gunthe
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India; D054892:Metagenome; D056186:Metagenomics / Q000379:methods; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D012621:Seasons; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014329:Tropical Climate